Naruto of the Hidden Mist
by G3rMan
Summary: From an elaborate scheme, Uzushiogakure is betrayed and left to be destroyed by the Senju. Instead, they are rescued by the Shodai Mizukage of the Terumī clan. Mito's strength is lended to Kirigakure, and so is the captured Nine Tails. Naruto is raised as a shinobi of the Mist, like his parents before him, with the rest of the Uzumaki. Peace can become war with the flip of a coin.
1. Overdue Inheritance

_Naruto of the Hidden Mist_

* * *

><p>The flak jacket fit snug to Naruto's body as he zipped up the front. It's charcoal gray color contrasted with his unruly blonde hair that was only kept in check thanks to his loosely fitted hitai-ate. The four Kiri waves were proudly engraved into the metal. He quickly tightened the dark cloth that wrapped around his head and checked himself in the mirror on the opposite wall of his bedroom.<p>

The pinstriped arm guards were always a little too tight. He would have to ask his mother if she could adjust them for him. Naruto flexed his fingers a few times before he settled with the small discomfort. The glint of his kunai holster on the bed made him turn to grab it.

"Naruto!" A loud voice boomed into his room through the door, followed by a few powerful smacks to the wood. "We're waiting on ya, ya know?!"

_Kaa-san, could you be a little quieter? _

Naruto grimaced as he entertained the thought of his door being knocked down simply with the strength of her voice. Uzumaki rarely had much patience to begin with, but his mother was on another level. She would always get on him and his father about taking too long to do something, when really they were going at a normal pace.

Naruto thought about it for a moment and could not stop the smile from forming on his lips. That was _his_ mother though, and he still loved her for it. In the end, she only had the family's best interests in mind.

Besides, there was a reason why she wanted him to hurry, and that was because he had a very special appointment at the hospital today. Recently, his mother had been scheduling him regular appointments to meet with Fusō Oba-chan to test his tenketsu and chakra pathways. Apparently, he was starting to near the age where a part of his grandmother's kekkei genkai would unlock.

He finished fastening the kunai holder to his leg and similarly latched his equipment pouch onto his waist. With the last of his uniform squared away, Naruto rushed over to the door to avoid invoking his mother's wrath. Outside, his mother and father waited near the entrance to their apartment. Kushina was actually halfway down the hall to bang on his door again, whereas his father merely stood back looking as resolute as ever.

"Sorry, Kaa-chan, I'm ready," Naruto said with a bashful smile.

Kushina's aggravated demeanor shifted after hearing her son's apology. She was never one to stay mad for long when it came to such trivial matters. The distance between them closed as Kushina threw her arm over his shoulder and brought him embarrassingly close. A smile from her meant that all had been forgiven.

"Good boy, Naruto." Kushina patted him on the shoulder and pushed him along. "Now, let's not keep Fusō-chan waiting all day." She led him out the door with Minato dutifully falling in behind them.

As Naruto passed, Minato had given a reassuring wink and a small grin. His father was always more reserved than his mother, but he had his own way of showing affection. Luckily, he had a level head and plenty more patience than his mother to get angry over something like changing clothes.

As the family of three exited their building, Naruto realized they looked like a squad about to head out on a mission. Kushina and Minato both wore their own uniforms, though that was not so odd concerning his father since he was often home between missions. Kushina on the other hand rarely left the village and had gotten used to wearing more casual clothes around.

Minato always expected Naruto to keep an air of professionalism when he was going around the village, so his mother must have been trying to appease him since he was home after so long. Of course, being one of the noble clans meant the Uzumaki had a certain reputation around the village, but his mother never much cared for such titles or traditions. His father really was the ideal shinobi, Naruto guessed.

That just gave him another target to aim for. He would not let his parents' support be for nothing. For many weeks he had been praying that the doctor's appointment would confirm he would receive the kekkei genkai of his grandmother's clan, so that he could make Kushina and Minato proud.

Naruto's face tightened as he concentrated on that vision of success. He would let nothing stop him from reaching it.

"Ah! Look over there, Naruto. Karin-chan and the others returned, you know?" Naruto followed his mother's excited gaze down the street where a procession of shinobi were walking toward them.

Naruto quickly recognized the red hair of his cousin, Karin Uzumaki. He also realized her eyes were locked on him as she ran out of the group toward his family. As she was the youngest member of the Cypher intelligence Division, the girl wore a loose fitting green kimono with a beige, pinstriped undershirt. The hitai-ate of the village hung loosely from her neck.

From this distance, he could already see her face reddening in his presence: something that happened far too often to be normal. His mother liked to tease him about Karin's feelings, but to him they were less of a laughing matter and more of a life and death situation.

_I've seen her hit Suigetsu halfway down the street when she gets angry. Definitely too dangerous._

"Karin-chan, welcome back! How was your mission?" Kushina was all smiles as she greeted the girl, whose exhaustion had all but disappeared upon arriving at Naruto's side.

"Ah, Kushina-sama, I'm glad to be back." Karin's eyes shifted toward Naruto as her eyes nervously danced behind her rimmed glasses.

"I already feel better from all the running," Karin added, quietly.

Naruto did his best to keep up a friendly demeanor as his mother did. He offered Karin a smile and nodded as she spoke some about her mission. She had left a few weeks ago with members from the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist to carry out a scouting mission in the Land of Frost. Naruto had never been to the mainland before, so he was interested in what she had to say, but he also wanted to check out the other shinobi that had been part of the group.

He turned to see his father glaring at Zabuza Momochi as he passed. Their eyes met for a moment before the swordsman carried on along with the others. The look his father had offered them was unnerving to say the least; Naruto had never seen him so displeased before.

In his own way, Naruto had always looked up to the Seven Swordsmen and envied their strength and reputation in the village. Of course, he could never say he had the blood thirst to live up to their image, but it did not change the fact that they were still the most prestigious organization in all of Kiri. People looked up to them, either with respect or from fear.

"Naruto-kun?" He heard his name and quickly returned to the conversation at hand.

Karin and his mother had been staring at him with a certain amount of concern. Apparently his face had soured after seeing his father's silent exchange with Zabuza. Minato of course had covered his tracks rather well and was staring off into the sky, avoiding his mother's wanting gaze.

"Sorry about that." Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Karin-chan, you said your mission was a success? So, no Kumo ninja have crossed the border?"

"Mmm." Karin hummed in approval, his warm regards made any suspicion fade away. "Since the last battle a few weeks ago, there hasn't been any sign of raiding parties."

"Thank goodness," Kushina muttered with a solemn expression. "The Uzumaki living there have gone through enough, I'd say."

Karin and Naruto could only nod since they were only privy to rumors and hearsay. From what he had gathered, an enclave of non-shinobi Uzumaki in the Land of Frost had been attacked by Kumogakure shinobi. Considering the fact that the Land of Frost was a protectorate of the Land of Water, the village sent a small force to counterattack.

Things got ugly when it was revealed the attack was actually a slave raid. Kumogakure had taken to kidnapping bloodline users or those with known clan affiliations as breeding stock. It was a sickening practice and every time he thought about it, Naruto could not help but feel his gut turn over.

His father was one of those who were sent to rescue the civilians, but apparently so were the Seven Swordsmen. Since that mission, his father had become a little bit more distant. He could only guess that had something to do with the harsh stare he had offered the swordsmen as they passed by. There were rumors some of the Uzumaki were killed by Kiri shinobi in the middle of combat.

_There's no way Tou-san would do that...so if the rumors are true, the swordsmen must have..._

Naruto did not want to think more of it. Neither did his mother as she had quickly changed the topic to Naruto's visit to the hospital.

Karin wished them luck and regretfully had to excuse herself. Her team was waiting for her down the road as they needed to meet the Mizukage and have an official debriefing. Since she had been brought into the Cypher Division, her freedom had been severely curtailed. He wondered if she was cut out for such strict work, but he knew from his mother how much of a talented shinobi she was in the eyes of the Uzumaki and the village.

She may have scared the living hell out of him sometimes, but Naruto had nothing but respect for Karin's skills as a kunoichi. With any luck, he could develop his strength even more to surpass her talent.

"Kushina, Naruto. We'd best head out too." Minato urged them forward, though he was kind as always.

"Mm, you're right." Kushina gave Naruto a more than friendly shove forward, hiding her strength behind a sickeningly sweet grin. "Come on kiddo, destiny awaits!"

Naruto just shook his head and continued down the road with his family. As exhausting as they could be, Naruto really did cherish the times he got to spend with his parents.

* * *

><p>Naruto found himself sitting in a particularly uncomfortable chair waiting for the doctor to finish her report. Fusō was another Uzumaki with long, plum red hair. She actually had a striking resemblance to his mother when she let her hair down, but that was to be expected considering the woman was close enough to be referred to as an aunt.<p>

Kushina and Minato stood behind him, both eagerly awaiting the doctor to say something. So far she had only asked him the standard questions for a checkup, so he really doubted there was much to talk about. Still, Naruto could not help but feel their anxiousness rub off.

Fusō got up from her chair and offered Naruto a gentle smile. When her hand began to glow green, he could not help but fidget uncomfortably. With a few quick taps, she checked his chakra pathways and tenketsu for any abnormalities. Apparently that was the only way they could tell he was nearing the awakening of his kekkei genkai.

"So, so? Does he have, ya know, kaa-chan's-" Kushina could barely hold herself together as she practically shouted the words, fists pumping up and down in excitement.

"Now now Kushina, I know you're excited but you have to wait." His mother deflated with Fusō's calming words, but the tension remained.

After checking a few more pressure points on his body, his aunt backed away and wrote more information down in his folder. He almost wanted to get up and read over her shoulder, though he figured it would be seen as rude to do so. He could wait a little longer than his mother, at least.

"Just as we confirmed in the last appointment, there is some unique activity happening in your chakra flow," Fusō then asked with a raised brow, "Have you noticed anything when molding chakra?"

Naruto just shook his head negatively. When he began to frown, his aunt only offered him a smile as she wrote that down.

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. That's perfectly normal, in fact if you did feel something off then it could even be seen as a bad sign." He could hear his mother let out a sigh of relief behind him.

"So, Fusō oba-san, what do you think? Do I have the Terumī kekkei genkai?" Naruto had to put the question out there directly.

His mother Kushina had always considered his inheritance of the ability a distant chance, as her mother had been a Terumī that married her Uzumaki father. Marriage between the two clans was a relatively common occurrence considering their past together, but exchange of kekkei genkai was considerably more rare. As unfortunate as it was that Kushina herself did not inherit the ability, she held out hope he would get the trait instead.

Fusō smiled as she reached into her pocket and pulled a familiar piece of paper. Naruto recognized it as chakra paper, used by shinobi to test for their affinity to nature elements.

"Well how about we find out right now? Here, Naruto-kun." She offered him the piece of paper and he readily accepted it, slipping it between his pointer finger and thumb.

"According to your records, the last time you took the test you received a straight water affinity. Correct?"

Naruto nodded as he remembered in the academy when his piece of paper dissolved between his fingers after a quick application of chakra.

"Try it out then. You should see a different result if the kekkei genkai really has been inherited." Spurred on by his aunt's encouragement, Naruto applied chakra to the piece of paper.

When Naruto inserted chakra into the piece of paper, it began to crumble, then ignited with fire, and finally was put out with water and dissolved into pieces. Before he could even enjoy a moment of wonder after watching the mess of elements, he was smothered by his mother's chest in a bone crushing hug.

Fusō barely stifled her amusement by covering her mouth as Naruto struggled to escape his mother's clutches. She kept shouting out her congratulations to him and how proud she was, despite the fact they still did not know if the kekkei genkai was confirmed or not.

"Congratulations, Naruto," Minato whispered his congratulations with a small pat on Naruto's shoulder.

When his father mumbled that sentence, it was all the confirmation he needed to know that his prayers had been answered. His father never made a misstep and had never spoken out of turn either. When he said something, Naruto took it for what it was as pure fact and today was no exception.

_I really have it!_

"Do ya know how amazing this is? I'm so _happy_!" Kushina shook her son around a bit more as Naruto finally returned her hug.

They shared a family moment that was soon broken with the door sliding open. Fusō turned to see who it was, only to bow in respect. Minato quickly did the same as he had noticed the door open first. Kushina and Naruto both turned to see the Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura, enter with a small smile on his face.

"A-ah, Yondaime-sama. Welcome!" Kushina bowed after her haphazard greeting with Naruto following her lead.

He had no idea the Yondaime would take an interest with him, especially on a peaceful day like this. The last time they had met was when he completed his last mission a few days ago. They had never really talked much, but his father had always been respectful when he talked about the Mizukage and his incredible strength as the jinchuuriki of the Three Tails. His mother was also particularly respectful, considering her usual cheery attitude; he always figured it had something to do with the both of them being tailed beast jailers.

"Hello everyone. It's good to see you in such high spirits." Yagura spoke with a distinctly formal tone that sometimes felt out of place coming from a superior like him.

However, it is also made him seem more approachable than most. Considering the darker reputation he had among the common folk, Naruto supposed his friendly demeanor was a good thing. It was hard to believe a boyish, short stature man like the one in front of him was a monster of any kind.

But, he knew very well that looks could be deceiving.

"Yondaime-sama, thank you for coming to check on our son's progress," Minato said, bowing deeper.

Yagura went farther in the room to stand with the group. Finally, they were able to stop bowing and peer down at the leader of the village normally.

"Of course, Minato-san. I have actually come to speak with Naruto considering some business matters. If you would all give us some time alone." Though his tone was still polite, an order was an order.

"Yes, sir." Minato led the others out without a second thought.

Kushina shot a concerned glance back toward Naruto, which he returned with a confident smile. Her love for him sometimes felt a bit like a drag, but he especially appreciated it in moments like this. All the same, he was not so much afraid of Yagura as he was of what the man had to say. Business matters could mean a lot of things with a Kage.

"Naruto-kun, I hope you've been well. This good news has surely lifted your spirits."

As soon as the door closed, Yagura opened with a compliment.

"Yes, Yagura-sama. Thank you for asking."

Yagura waved his hand to dismiss the thanks as nothing. He really was overwhelmingly formal with his subordinates.

"I hope that in the future you will find that you also carry your mother's abilities as well. Each step you take seems to make you into a more and more promising shinobi."

The compliment made Naruto blush a bit, but he could not help but feel the other man was merely being polite. As the Mizukage, it was his job to foster a strong village through powerful shinobi. It only made sense he wished for Naruto to gain more abilities for the sake of the village.

"Do you remember what we talked about, the time you were promoted to Chunin?" Yagura clasped his hands behind his back, waiting patiently for an answer.

Naruto thought back to the conversation they shared in the Mizukage's garden, atop the central office building the village leader did his work in. That was the first time he realized the Yondaime had actually acknowledged him as more than just another shinobi, or another Uzumaki. At first he had passed it off to his parents' accomplishments, but now he wondered if there was more to it than that.

"You said that if I displayed a certain level of progress, I might be considered for special training?" That seemed to be the central point of the conversation as he remembered it, at least.

"Yes, that's right. I would consider the unlocking of the Terumī bloodline a considerable amount of progress, wouldn't you?"

Not waiting for an answer, Yagura continued to speak. The curves of his mouth started to turn upward in a knowing smile.

"It's about time I take you under my wing. Even after the academy, there was talk for you to be considered by the Seven Swordsmen as well as the ANBU, but I preached caution as I wanted to see just what you were capable of first. This progression has proven to me that you are ready to start exploring these possibilities."

Naruto could not help but swallow hard after hearing all that information. He had no idea that he had been scouted for those organizations, nor was he aware of the Mizukage's involvement. Had his mother and father known? If they did, they were good liars.

The thought of that kind acknowledgment both excited and frightened him.

"What kind of special training do you mean, Yagura-sama?" That was the one part he still did not quite understand the purpose of.

Of course, to receive any kind of lesson from the esteemed leader of the hidden village was more than an accomplishment: it was a godsend! But, he knew very little of Yagura's abilities outside of his fame as a jinchuuriki and Suiton user.

"To answer that, let me ask you a question, Naruto," Yagura responded with another smile, his gaze wandering to the window across the room. "Do you know the history of your clan and how you came to join the village?"

"Of course, Mizukage-sama." Naruto answered immediately. It would be pretty insane to say he did not know the history of the Uzumaki, his own clan.

"When Uzushiogakure was abandoned in its time of need by the Senju during the First Shinobi War, the Terumī came to our aid from Kiri. The Shodai, Byakuren Terumī, made a pact of cooperation with my ancestor, Ashina Uzumaki. From that union, Yūdai Terumī and Mito Uzumaki were married and brought our clans into a relationship we still have today."

It was all facts that he had either heard from his mother or read in the family scrolls. History had never been his strong suit, but it was all still interesting nonetheless. The world was so different back then.

"Yes, that much is true. And do you remember how Mito Uzumaki became the village's hero and made the Uzumaki as well known as they are today?" From Yagura's tone, it was very clear he was leading the conversation to an obvious end.

Unfortunately, Naruto still did not see the point. Nonetheless, he knew the answer to the question. That same answer resided inside of his mother.

"Mito Uzumaki, together with her husband, infiltrated the Land of Fire during an internal conflict between the Shodai Hokage and Madara Uchiha and sealed the Nine Tailed Fox inside of herself. So, she became the first jinchuuriki and brought the fox back to our village, increasing our military strength."

After that, the Uzumaki and Terumī formed the Noble Clans of Kirigakure that made the members above common scrutiny of the populace. Later with the Nidaime's reign, the Hōzuki were added to the noble clan lineup and formed what it remained as today.

Eventually Kirigakure would either be given, or take for themselves, the Three Tailed Turtle and the Six Tailed Slug; much of that was accomplished due to the presence of the Uzumaki and their powerful sealing techniques. The rest of the villages were too occupied to create their own sealing techniques and could do little to respond. Konoha to this day remained without a tailed beast, putting it in a relatively disadvantageous position in the distribution of power.

"Very good. That's all correct: thanks to the Uzumaki, Kirigakure is well known as the most powerful village for two key reasons. We have three tailed beasts and a considerable population of powerful bloodline users."

Naruto always knew the village was relatively successful, but he knew little of how they were looked at by other villages. To know they were considered the most powerful gave him a bit of pride.

Yagura noticed Naruto's expression and chuckled. It was indeed a good feeling, but there was a lot of work that went into maintaining that status quo.

"Anyway, to go back to your original question, your training will involve learning about the tailed beasts. Just like your mother, I am a jinchuuriki, and therefore I have a responsibility to the village to both contain this power and to use it against our enemies."Yagura's tone turned serious the more he spoke, and Naruto felt his legs turn to gel.

"What is our biggest strength can turn into our most formidable threat, so you must understand how important it is to have capable retainers that can subdue the beasts should the need arise."

The thought of being trained to become a jinchuuriki made the sweat turn to ice on his back. He had nothing but respect for the three jinchuuriki in the village, but he had never considered joining their ranks. Kushina was strong, but he could see her struggle with the stress both mentally and physically.

Yagura realized Naruto's face was one of worry and tried to ease his concerns with a smile.

"Leave your concerns behind Naruto, as I don't plan on making you a jinchuuriki if I can help it. You are one of many potential candidates, should the unthinkable happen and we need to contain a tailed beast."

Somehow, that did not help calm Naruto's nerves.

"It mostly has to do with your blood; as a member of the Uzumaki clan, your sealing techniques would be very useful in such a situation." That much made sense, though it did not explain why he specifically had to be the one to take the job.

When Naruto realized what he was saying, he wanted to slap himself. He was disrespecting his mother by being so hesitant about the situation. If anything, he should be proud to make such a sacrifice for the village; that is what his father would say, and that is what he should have been saying all along.

Still, he could not help but tighten his fists at the thought of facing down a tailed beast.

"Anyway, all of that is hypothetical for now. Let's not dwell on it. For now, your priority is to nurture and grow your newly awakened kekkei genkai properly. To do that, you'll need a proper teacher."

Naruto appreciated the change in topic back to something that was worth celebrating. What Yagura said was true, that he would need a teacher. The last time he served under a jonin, it was over four years ago. Back when he was a genin and life was arguably much simpler.

"I'm confident we can find someone in the Terumī family to take on that role. In fact, I already have a few in mind off the top of my head," Yagura said with confidence.

"For now though, I'll let you enjoy the rest of the day with your family. The training can start at a later date, after I've had time to setup a few related matters." The delay was something Naruto was secretly relieved of.

"Yagura-sama, is all of this really because I unlocked my kekkei genkai?" Naruto suddenly asked, as he realized just how overwhelming it was to all of a sudden be given that much attention.

Yagura must have been waiting for that question as he smiled again. He made a quick expression toward the door, where Naruto's family waited.

"Some time ago, your parents came to me to ask for my help in giving you a fitting role to support the village. They believed the training and missions you were undergoing were mediocre and would not satisfy you."

His parents said that about him? From his father he could have expected it, but his mother too? He had no idea they felt that way about his future, or at least that strongly.

"While your kekkei genkai is a welcomed gift, the work you have put into your career to this point has finally bore these fruits of labor for you to take. Don't pass them up." Yagura's words resounded in Naruto's heart.

"I'll send for you tomorrow. There are some people I'd like you to meet, to better help you make an informed decision." Yagura gave Naruto a short bow and left the room.

Naruto returned the gesture as the Mizukage left. Not a moment after the leader left, Kushina rushed back in and gathered him in her arms. She must have seen through his distant look as she quickly became concerned.

"Sorry, Naruto. We should have told you about our talk with the Yondaime sooner. Minato had been so concerned you weren't receiving the right amount of attention, ya know?" His mother's excited tic came out again, but it just made her words all the more sincere.

"Of course, Kaa-chan. I understand, thanks for doing what you did." Kushina buried her head into his neck and thanked him over and over again.

Naruto's eyes wandered to the door to see his father leaning against it, his arms crossed in a cool demeanor. Though he was not smiling, Naruto could tell Minato shared his mother's sentiments. There was nothing to apologize over from his perspective, as he had done what he considered the best for his son and most importantly the village.

"I knew you would become a greater asset to the village if we spoke up with our concerns to the Mizukage," Minato added from afar.

Kushina pulled herself from her son, standing between them. A short glare was sent back at her husband over his callous words. They always disagreed over priorities; his mother was all about family while his father considered the village's safety paramount. He felt himself fall in between, though he usually leaned with his mother in most matters.

"The village isn't the only important thing around here, Minato. Naruto's feelings matter, too." Her defense of him made Naruto feel better, enough to speak his mind.

"Thanks, Kaa-san. You too, Tou-san," Naruto said, his hand on his mother's back to comfort her. "It's all a little overwhelming, but I am happy with the opportunity."

All the conflict washed away as the parents saw their son's genuine delight.

"That strength will give you the power to protect the village, definitely," Minato said with a rare smile.

Naruto felt Kushina's hand on his shoulder as she gave him a light shake. His mother had a big grin on her face that served to further brighten the mood.

"That's strength you'll have to protect the family too, ya know?"

"Yeah, believe it." Mother and son shared another close moment.

"Now come on, we have some shopping to do."

The thought of having to shop with his mother brought his mood to a low. What kind of celebration was that?

Kushina quickly picked up on his dreary mood and playfully bonked him over the head. Her mock anger quickly disappeared as she grabbed his attention with another smile.

"We're shopping so I can cook my son's favorite meal, ya know?"

Naruto's elation returned with thoughts of his mother's salty pork ramen. It made his mouth water just thinking about it. Not even Minato could resist the idea of eating Kushina's homemade food, his arms uncrossed and another grin appearing.

The family of three hurried out of the hospital building to go enjoy themselves. A celebration that could not begin soon enough.

* * *

><p>In the Mizukage's office, Yagura hosted a fellow Kiri shinobi who sat at one of the nearby couches. On the table between them sat an open folder with the picture of a teenage blonde boy. He was very recognizable as one of the Uzumaki's youngest and brightest.<p>

"Please look over the documents and inform me if there is some reason why you cannot accept the assignment. If there are no complaints, I'll have you start immediately," Yagura said, pressing his hands together in satisfaction.

"Yes, sir. But, are you sure it's wise for _me_ to be his teacher? I've never had a genin team before, let alone a single pupil..."

The young woman spoke with some hesitation in her voice, but Yagura knew her very well as being confident in her own abilities. It was hard not to be when you were lauded as the most talented Yōton and Futton user among all of the Terumī.

"Mei Terumī, perhaps I should rephrase this but, could you recommend me someone better to teach this boy about your clan's kekkei genkai? If so, please do. But, you know as well as I that your talent in ninjutsu is second to none among your peers, even outside of your clan."

Yagura's words should have made her blush, but Mei was more disciplined than that.

Still, they gave her more confidence as she sat a bit straighter. Dressed in normal shinobi wardrobe, she wore the village's standard flak jacket with black underclothes. The auburn hair that her clan was prided over drew down to her lower back, braided in a loose herringbone pattern with a small top knot tied with her usual blue band.

Mei always carried herself as a competent and attractive kunoichi, and so she did not shy away from enhancing her appearance with more aesthetics. Her favorite color blue was used as her nail polish, and her lips were colored dark purple with lipstick. Despite having such confidence over her skills and her body, she still lacked results from her efforts and so she asked the Mizukage to understand her hesitation.

"I understand your point, Mizukage-sama. I will look over the files at once."

Mei gathered the papers and looked them over once more. Sixteen years old, chunin. A pretty standard, if not perfect, track record in missions and performance. He had a considerable pedigree to live up to though, as she flipped to the page with his parent's information.

Everyone in the village knew the Uzumaki, but more so, everyone knew the duo that was Minato and Kushina. Known as Kiri no Akai Nami by their enemies, Kushina was the powerful Nine Tails jinchuuriki and a member of Kiri's Barrier team.

The Kiri no Kiiroi Senkō, better known as Minato Namikaze among the villagers, had a devastating amount of kills with his Hiraishin technique and was considered to have Kage level potential.

Those were some big shoes Naruto had lived his life to fill. Mei had no doubt the Mizukage wanted to see him fill them sooner rather than later, too.

But, she still hesitated. Was Naruto Uzumaki capable of learning anything from her? She never really considered herself the type that could teach; she was terrible with her cousin's children, after all.

Either way, Mei would find out soon enough. This was a request she knew could not be refused.

"Then, I will accept this assignment," Mei said, flipping the folder closed and carefully placing it back on the table.

Yagura smiled, though it almost felt sinister with how satisfied he was with her answer.

"I'm sure you will find a way to handle Naruto's delicate family situation. I've always believed women were the most adaptive teachers. I have confidence in you, Mei."

Mei stood up from her seat and formally bowed. Whether she liked it or not, he was her superior. An order was an order. Still, she felt sick to her stomach for some reason when she was in his presence.

Something never felt right with Yagura.

* * *

><p>The next day came too quickly for Naruto. He felt light in the head as he walked with Yagura through Kirigakure. He still could not believe they were going to personally meet the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. For some reason, he still felt like he was unworthy of their attention.<p>

Yagura seemed to think the opposite as he paid the matter little mind. As they walked together, Yagura had been telling Naruto about the village's three tailed beasts and their capabilities. It seemed only Yagura had full control of his chakra, though he had admitted that the beast's relative power and its personality contributed to the Mizukage's ability to contain and control it. Still, just the presence of their jinchuuriki gave the other villages pause to attempt any kind of attack.

Even Konoha, which had made many territorial gains in the aftermath of the Third Shinobi War, did not dare to attack Kirigakure despite their calls for the Nine Tails to be given back to them. Without a tailed beast, Konoha was at a severe disadvantage on the negotiations table. Iwagakure's strategic victory over them during the Third Shinobi War had kept them in check, for the most part, but their Yondaime Orochimaru was a considerable threat. Yagura warned Naruto never to trust the man, should they ever meet.

_'Stay away from that man, should you ever meet him', says Yagura. Orochimaru must be an intimidating shinobi for the Mizukage to say that._

Of course, Naruto heard the rumors of the Sannin from the mainland and their martial prowess during the Second Shinobi War. But, words were easily twisted; legends were just a few adjectives away from dropouts. Not that he disbelieved the Mizukage, and he would be sure to heed his advice should he ever have need to go to Konoha.

Though, he doubted that was even a remote possibility considering Kiri's isolationist policy.

"We are close to their training grounds. I trust you can find the way from here?"

Yagura had stopped some distance away from the training area: a forest with an abnormal amount of mist shrouding it from view.

Naruto furrowed his brow in confusion and Yagura chuckled.

"Zabuza-san requested that you be sent alone, so I'm afraid we must part ways. There is little for me to do there anyway, as everything is now in your hands." Yagura shrugged, as if it meant nothing.

Naruto's destiny was his to shape, in other words. The Mizukage's presence had offered him some comfort in an unfamiliar area. Still, he was a Kiri shinobi in his own right; he could not have his hand held the entire way.

"I understand." Naruto bowed.

"Very good. Ao from the ANBU will also be in attendance; he will want to speak with you regarding the possibility of recruitment into the organization. Please be sure to meet with him."

Yagura waved goodbye before turning around to walk back. After a few paces he began to disappear into a fine mist of water and his presence could no longer be felt.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and turned back toward the grounds. They definitely were intimidating, but nothing he could not handle. He proceeded onward, now alone.

Along the road, he noticed a puddle near one of the drainage pipes on the road. He found it odd for water to be present considering that, apart from the usual mist, there had been no rain the past few days.

Well, a puddle definitely was not the oddest sight in Kirigakure so he passed it by all the same.

A few more paces forward and he realized his suspicions were correct. Two presences appeared behind him and before he could make a move, his body was surrounded in shuriken chains. The culprits rounded to show themselves in front of him and he quickly realized from their hitai-ate that they too were Kiri shinobi.

Then why were they attacking him?!

"Who the hell are you?!" Naruto shouted in outrage, though they were not fazed by his harsh words.

The two men had cloaks over their body to hide what looked like camouflage fatigues. Both had similar metal gauntlets that the chain was attached to, and it appeared to be their primary weapon. Their faces were concealed by rebreathers and their hitai-ate had horns attached to the metal as some kind of fashion statement.

"I am Gōzu." The taller one spoke first, his voice muffled by the mask.

"And I am Meizu," said the smaller one.

"We are the demon brothers. As for you, Uzumaki, you should be more careful wandering the streets alone. Even in our village, you aren't safe when someone wants you dead."

Those words made Naruto's blood run cold. Someone wanted him dead? How did that make any kind of sense? Still, to have this conversation at such a disadvantage annoyed him. More than that, the betrayal of fellow Kiri shinobi against one of their own pissed him off even more.

They needed to be taught a lesson.

"Now then..." With a sudden jerk, the two tightened their chains in an attempt to rip Naruto into pieces.

Unfortunately for them, their captive toppled over into a puddle of water. The brothers were caught off guard only for a moment as they sensed his presence behind them. They returned their chains and spread out to catch Naruto off guard.

The blonde adjusted his arm guards to show off the skin beneath. A faint black seal could just barely be made out if one were to look closely. Naruto summoned two weapons, one from each arm, into his hands with a pop of smoke.

In each hand he now wielded a single kunai blade. Naruto assumed his defensive stance and readied himself for their next attack. He would not be caught off guard a second time. He would figure out who their employer was, even if he had to beat it out of them.

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.<strong>

_Please see the two links on my profile page for more details into this world's drastic departure from the known Naruto universe._

_It goes without saying, but do not try and liken this story to canon timeline events. It is a significant departure, despite it remaining very much the same universe._

_Sorry for asking after staying absent for so long, but please enjoy._


	2. Fanning the Flames

_Naruto of the Hidden Mist_

* * *

><p>Naruto watched carefully as the brothers broke their chain link and separated. They stood on either side of him, with the river that intersected the training ground at their back. No one else had noticed the brazen daylight attack, as Naruto stood alone against his opponents.<p>

That was fine, he figured. He would not have to hold back since there were no bystanders to get in the way. Still, he would need to keep at least one alive to get the information he needed.

"Meizu, now!" Gōzu shouted to his younger brother and both of them ran forward.

They held their gauntlets out again and the shuriken chain was released. Held taut, it would bisect Naruto if he remained standing where he did. The two were faster than most, and he knew mobility and surprise were their greatest strength shown so far.

_Never use the same trick twice._

To their surprise, Naruto dashed forward instead of retreating. With his kunai blade ready, he stabbed through the center of the shuriken chain and impaled the unwieldy weapon into the ground. This forced both brothers to stop in their tracks as they tried to pull it free, to no avail.

Naruto disappeared, leaving the blade still impaled into the ground. Both Meizu and Gōzu scrambled to try and find him, but they could not sense his presence. The momentum of their offensive had been lost and now Naruto had the advantage.

Gōzu quickly detached himself from the now useless chain, but his younger brother was not so fast. Before Meizu could even realize what was happening, Naruto had appeared behind him with his other kunai blade ready to strike at his back.

Meizu turned to look Naruto in the eyes and was shaken by what he saw. There was no hesitation: he was only an enemy to the blonde Uzumaki. Before he could even scream, the blade pierced his back and forced him to the ground. Blood began to ooze out into a reflective pool of crimson.

"Brother!" Gōzu cried out in anguish as Meizu was downed in one hit.

This enemy of theirs was more than they had expected. The intelligence they received said he would hesitate against a fellow Kiri shinobi, but his reaction times were even faster than their own. Now that his brother was down, Gōzu was at a significant disadvantage as they relied on each other to tag team.

Enraged at his brother's defeat, Gōzu felt his legs carry him forward. He wanted nothing more than to wipe the smirk off that kid's face. He would not be looked down upon by some brat! From his metal gauntlet, he shot out a few shuriken from the mechanisms inside.

Naruto readied his blade with both hands and swung out. The strike knocked away the first projectile, and with a few twists of his wrist he quickly deflected the rest. His body moved as if it was one with the blade, expertly moving in and out of the flight path of all of Gōzu's attacks.

Frustrated at his inability to hit anything, Gōzu barely noticed that Naruto was pointing at him. Only when he heard a familiar sizzle did he realize that he was in danger. With all his strength, he leaped into the air and back toward the river. In the next moment, the place where he was standing exploded with rock and shrapnel launching in all directions.

Gōzu recovered himself on the river, using chakra to stand atop the moving water. He tried to assess the situation in an effort to calm himself. Naruto remained where he was originally near his brother, and so he had a moment to think.

The attack happened right where Naruto's blade was impaled into the ground, and so Gōzu quickly connected the dots. Naruto must have planted an explosive tag on his sword prior to using it to impale the chain. Gōzu realized his opponent had been thinking considerably ahead in their fight to predict he would run that path, but considering his brother were running parallel to one another, perhaps it was not such a far off stretch.

Still, to come up with that in such a short amount of time was impressive. He would have to change tactics if he wanted to win. His reputation was riding on the line, after all.

* * *

><p>From inside the training ground, hidden behind the thick mist that the village received its namesake, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of Kirigakure watched the battle with some amusement. Since the start of the fight, they had eagerly waited to see just who would come out on top. Naruto's quick thinking and impressive speed had made a few look twice, but for the most part none had been particularly impressed yet.<p>

Zabuza watched quietly, his eyes focused on the Demon Brothers. One might even say his face was scrunched up in annoyance if they knew him well enough.

Mangetsu and Kisame stood near one another, discussing the recent tactic used by Naruto.

"It was kind of impressive he knew just where to place the tag. Almost as if he had expected no margin of error," Mangetsu said with a cross look, his eyes focused on analyzing the battle.

Kisame was leaning against a nearby tree looking quite pleased with the proceedings. He was rarely one to take things seriously, and he kept relaxed with his arms crossed and a big smirk on his face.

"Ah, but if you look closely, you can see the kid laid down a bunch of explosive tags along his way to Meizu. Even if the sword one failed, he had an insurance policy." Kisame's chipper mood could be translated as a compliment to Naruto's method.

Kushimaru, the thin and stalky ANBU of the group, was close enough to overhear them talking. He swung around the trunk of his tree and stood on his side, using chakra to stay attached.

"You say it like it was something impressive, Kisame. This fight is just a bunch of kids throwing sticks."

"Some sharp sticks, eh?" Kisame pointed at the downed Meizu and snickered.

Zabuza ignored them and continued to watch. His eyes shifted focus when the water behind Gōzu started to shift.

_...Not bad for a snot-nosed brat._

* * *

><p>Gōzu grabbed a lever that was on his metal gauntlet and pulled it. The bulky piece of metal fell apart, freeing his right hand for use.<p>

"Time for some payback, kid," Gōzu said with a hidden smirk as he began to go through hand signs.

"Too slow." A voice responded in his ear, and he realized that he was not alone in the river.

All around his vision, water surrounded him and encased him in a bubble. Unable to move, he turned to see Naruto holding the water technique with one hand while the other let go of the kunai blade as it disappeared in a puff of smoke. He went back to look at the other Naruto, the one he thought was real, only to see it dissolve into a puddle of water—a water clone.

Defeated at his own game, Gōzu could only lament the fact he did not see through Naruto's technique sooner. When Naruto had first escaped from their chain attack, he had hidden inside of the water as they did in the puddle. Rather than face them directly, he allowed a clone to take his place.

In the end, they were not even able to defeat something had a tenth of the power of the original user. This was embarrassing, no matter howGōzu looked at it.

"Looks like I've successfully captured you," Naruto said with barely hidden satisfaction, "Now, tell me who sent you to attack me."

Gōzu met his gaze and said nothing but a few choice words.

"Go to hell."

Unfortunately, Naruto was not so amused by his answer and sent his other hand into the water. Afraid he would try and strangle him, Gōzu futilely tried to avoid his grasp. Instead, Naruto ripped the rebreather out from his face mask, which forced him to start holding his breath.

It was not long before he began to choke on the water of his prison. Gōzu's vision began to blur and he realized he was about to pass out. If that happened, he was as good as dead. Unfortunately, even if he wanted to say something, his mouth was full of water so he could not even ask Naruto to stop.

"Now then, how about you start talking-"

"Stand down!"

Naruto heard the booming voice come from behind him and saw Zabuza Momochi, one of the infamous swordsmen, appear at the edge of the mist. With no one else around, he must have given the order. Though Naruto would rather keep his opponent locked up, he had no choice but to let him go.

The water surrounding Gōzu disappeared and he fell into the water. Unable to control his chakra, he was not able to stay afloat properly and struggled in the water.

Naruto ignored him and moved closer to Zabuza. He quickly recognized that the other swordsmen were present as well. They hid their chakra signatures well since he had not recognized their presence. As expected of shinobi from that caliber.

If they had been there, why had they not helped him? Somehow, Naruto had a feeling they were not around just by coincidence.

"Sorry for fighting in your training ground, Momochi-san. I was attacked by these two ninja..." Naruto looked over his shoulder and noticed Meizu was missing. Had he already been taken away?

"I wanted to find out who they were working for, so I had no choice but to attack."

"Well then, look no farther. I was the one who sent them, kid," Zabuza said, without a hint of remorse.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, but said nothing. That seemed to make the most sense, given that most would never know his destination or the time he was supposed to be there. To have Kiri shinobi fight each other to death like that though was really cruel. Without any warning, someone could have really died.

With that information in mind, he hoped Meizu would recover.

Gōzu had finally recovered and approached Zabuza on land. He quickly bowed his head and did his best to look apologetic, though Zabuza's eyes were hardly accommodating. He looked thoroughly disappointed, to put it lightly.

"I'm very sorry for the failure of my brother and I, Zabuza-sama. If there is-" Gōzu finally chose to look at his superior in his eyes and sorely wished he had not.

"..." A powerful glare was all that was needed as Gōzu dismissed himself.

The relationship between those two had just soured. Clearly, Zabuza had been expecting a different outcome than what he got. Naruto was not sure how he felt about the jonin's lack of confidence.

"I wanted to see your abilities first hand and how you handled stress. Beating the brothers was to be expected, but I wanted to know just how efficient you could be." Zabuza explained with a harsh gaze.

"I understand." Naruto had quickly figured out the point of the test, but he was not happy with the end result.

He had almost killed a fellow Kiri shinobi for nothing. That did not sit well with him.

Zabuza must have picked up on his hesitation and crossed his arms in defiance. The gap between their skill levels was very clear, so in Naruto's position it was hard to argue against the method.

"You'll be doing a lot worse than fighting comrades on the front. If you can't stomach it, then you best leave now." Zabuza turned his back to Naruto and started to head back into the mist.

Naruto saw his opportunity to join the organization shrinking with every step. He stepped forward, arm out in a motion to make him stop.

"That's not what I-" Naruto stopped when he saw the rest of the swordsmen emerge from the mist.

Kisame was the first to address him, smiling as usual.

"You know kid, to sign up you have to know more than just how to use a sword. You have to be flexible enough to kill just about anyone you come across." His words lacked the warmth his facial expression provided.

"You may have defeated both your opponents, however, you sacrificed one of your blades. As a member of the swordsmen, that is not an option you have. Each blade is precious and irreplaceable to the village," Mangetsu added his own words of wisdom.

Naruto reflected on their words and knew there was truth behind what they said. To be considered for the swordsmen, he could not rely completely on his sword—nor could he be willing to sacrifice it so easily. He wondered if that had completely soured his chance of impressing them.

"With all that said," Zabuza continued after a short pause, "You aren't a member of our group, nor are you a trainee. You can't be expected to follow those rules." The scrutiny they had offered him lightened somewhat with those words.

"Your actions were acceptable for a life or death situation, so you passed the test." Zabuza shrugged his shoulders in disinterest. "Not that it really mattered. It just proved you were competent as a shinobi."

All the same, Naruto was glad he was able to get through without any further incident.

"Mangetsu. Suigetsu." The two brothers stepped forward, the younger one arriving from behind the mist. "You two will guide him while he's here. Make sure he doesn't get in the way." Zabuza turned around and headed back in without any further niceties, and the rest of the swordsmen did the same.

Suigetsu approached Naruto and greeted him with a lazy salute. Naruto returned the gesture with a solid nod; despite their occasional rivalries, they were pretty close to one another. To see a familiar face was reassuring, and as a trainee Suigetsu had already proven himself to be pretty dependable—that went double for his brother.

"Come on, Naruto. We'll show you around, eh bro?" Suigetsu called out to his solemn brother, who simply nodded and beckoned them to follow.

"You can even meet good ol' Chōjūrō. I bet he'll love to meet you, probably at least."

Naruto did not get the joke Suigetsu was cackling over, but he did his best to smile. His friend from the Hōzuki was not the easiest person to understand; his humor was known to get a little dark from time to time.

There was no one better to guide him through the process, he supposed. After all, Suigetsu joined only a little after his older brother Mangetsu did. Regardless of what you had to say about him, Suigetsu's skill never came into question.

Together, they disappeared into the mist.

* * *

><p>Atop a nearby building, two figures watched as the preceding battle and conversation wrapped up between the swordsmen and their prospective recruit. One of them was a village jonin intently observing her newest charge; the other, an acquaintance from the Hunter-nin Corps, sent to speak with the very same boy.<p>

"Not bad for some new blood chunin. His caution is something I can respect," Ao said, reflecting on Naruto's expert use of substitution and clone techniques.

"..."

His compatriot remained silent, stuck in a somber mood. Mei had her arms crossed as her emerald eye remained locked on the now quiet battlefield below.

Ao frowned as he had hoped to have some kind of conversation with her before he had to meet Naruto. Unfortunately, she had not uttered a word to him since she arrived from following the Uzumaki kid from the Mizukage's office. It was obvious she was trying to gather intelligence on him, but for what he had no idea.

"Given his show, I'd say you don't have much to worry about. If he has that kind of potential, he should be a good student." Ao spoke from his own experience with his superior, Tsurugi.

Seeing that kind of potential was something you could get good at, given enough time. A veteran of the Third Shinobi World War, Ao had seen just about everything he could care to in life. To find a decisive, cool shinobi like Naruto get into such a position like the Seven Swordsmen bode well for the village's future. He was sure Minato, the boy's father, felt the same way.

Despite Ao's words, Mei refused to budge. Her dubious frown only seemed to deepen. She was trying to come up with some excuse, some hidden problem the blonde had to justify her worry.

Unfortunately for Mei, she would have to learn on her own that such secrets could only be found out by talking face to face with the man of the hour.

"Well..." Ao sighed, bending his back a bit to stretch. "It's about time I go introduce myself to him. If I notice anything, I'll let you know."

He offered one last look of sympathy to the embattled jonin. Then, he was gone in a blur, leaving Mei alone with her troubled thoughts.

* * *

><p>"And that is the Nuibari, wielded by Kushimaru Kuriarare. It is a thin needle sword that compliments the speed of the user in order to make pinpoint, piercing strikes through opponents." Mangetsu explained to Naruto as they stood off to the side of the Swordsmen as they trained, either in sparring matches together or off alone.<p>

They were watching Kushimaru train; a tall lanky man with a mane of light hair, tempered by his ANBU mask that hid away his identity. He was fighting against Jinpachi, reinforcing the fact the two were often seen together. Due to the sordid acts they committed during their shinobi career, they were known as the Heartless Pair.

"With the thread embedded inside, he strings his opponents up so they can't move. From what I hear its pretty painful: just the way he likes to leave them. Kind of disgusting—might as well just kill them, right?" Suigetsu added, shaking his head at the ANBU's choice method of killing.

Naruto definitely did not like the sound of that, but no one could deny Kushimaru's effectiveness on the battlefield. There was a reason why he still had a sword in his hand and the village's symbol on his mask, rather than be stuck in some jail. Still, Naruto wished the village did not have to rely on men that felt the way he did about killing and death. It was almost as if he was not human.

"Enough of that crap. Bro, let's get Cho and show off your sword, Hiramekarei," Suigetsu said in a not so subtle way to change the subject.

"Very well." His brother, as always, kept a civil air about him as he waved Chōjūrō over.

The boy in question, a short Kiri shinobi with turquoise hair and a pair of glasses, came running. In his zeal, he almost tripped over himself a few times. But still, Naruto could see that he was very satisfied to be acknowledged. When he ran up to them, he and Mangetsu shared a friendly glance.

"Yes, senpai. I've arrived!" Chōjūrō said with a bit of pride, standing as straight as he could.

"Chōjūrō, we were just about to go over the Hiramekarei's function with Naruto. Perhaps you should be the one to explain it instead," Mangetsu said as he summoned a scroll and unfurled it.

Inside, Naruto could see labels for seven different swords. He quickly figured out that the scroll was where the swords were kept when not in use by their respective owners. Suigetsu had mentioned his brother was known as the Master of the Armory in the Swordsmen, which was apparently a coveted position because it meant that user was responsible for each weapon and in turn, could wield any of them should it be necessary.

Mangetsu summoned his own sword with a quick application of chakra. A large puff of smoke hid the broadsword's sudden arrival. Wrapped in bandages, Mangetsu held the large blade with both hands as it so happened to have two hilts. Despite its obvious weight, Mangetsu did not look dispirited and easily threw the blade around a bit to warm himself up.

"Of course, senpai. I can probably manage that much...probably," The trainee whispered the last part, but everyone could easily hear it.

Chōjūrō clearly had some issues with confidence.

"Anyway, the Hiramekarei is a blade that is capable of storing a large amount of chakra to be used in a form of shape manipulation. There are two large holes at the top of the blade where the chakra is released to form a shape around the blade, which is generally used to enhance the hitting power of any attack."

Despite his uneasy nature, Chōjūrō very passionately recounted what he had learned with Naruto and Suigetsu.

Mangetsu meanwhile prepared a quick demonstration. With a wide stance, he held the blade in front of himself and allowed a quick release in chakra that quickly formed the shape of a long sickle. With a single wide swing, the chakra blade went out and brought down the closest target dummies with a clean strike to their center mass.

Naruto stood in silent amazement, along with Chōjūrō. Suigetsu just rolled his eyes and smiled—that was his brother, alright.

"As you can see, the speed at which these weapons form from the chakra is quite fast. They are also used to extend the user's range well past that of a normal blade. Much of the technique relies on the user, however, so it really goes to show how much Mangetsu-senpai practices."

That much was obvious. His expertise with such a heavy sword, as well as the obvious chakra requirements it offered, was impressive to say the least.

Mangetsu returned to them and sheathed the sword on his back. He remained as taciturn as ever, not reacting to their silent praise.

Eventually, Naruto could not help but ask what had been on his mind since he arrived. Among these people, he figured he could trust they would not berate or laugh at him.

"So, Mangetsu-san, if I was requested to be here...does that mean I will receive permission to train with you?" As much as it was rewarding to watch such powerful shinobi train, there was only so much he could learn from standing around.

Besides, he came here because he wanted to become like them. He wanted to one day have the kind of power Mangetsu had displayed, so that he could protect the village and his family. If he was not going to become one of the seven swordsmen, then being there was a waste of time.

"That is something that is up to each swordsman on a personal level: whether or not they want to talk to you or not. As you can see, training here is pointless unless you are offered time with the blade you are one day meant to wield."

As Mangetsu said that, he took his broadsword and offered one hilt to Chōjūrō. After a moment of hesitation, the younger boy realized it was finally his turn and took the weapon in his own hands. Bowing in thanks, Chōjūrō took a bit of time to steady his grip before he made his way to a more secluded corner of the training area. Maybe he was still a little embarrassed he did not have the strength to hold the Hiramekarei properly yet. But to even be able to pick it up with his size and physique was impressive, to say the least.

Not even Suigetsu had any words to make fun of him.

"I see..." Naruto said after he watched Chōjūrō walk off. He could not help but deflate a bit of his excitement after hearing that.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto. Ameyuri has been staring at you since you first got here, so you should go talk to her!"

Naruto heard Suigetsu's undeniably cheeky tone and looked over his shoulder toward the training ground.

There, in the middle of the field, Ameyuri Ringo stood waiting. A sharky smirk began to form on her lips when she noticed that his attention had drifted toward her. She was on the short side, even smaller than Chōjūrō, but she had a much more aggressive presence than he did. Even from this distance, he could feel her chakra release in what he could only guess was excitement.

The long red hair might fool someone into thinking she was a member of the Uzumaki, but he had never met anyone who would acknowledge her as being related to them. The baggy, pinstriped clothes made it very clear she was not a girl who favored fashion or desired to be attractive to the opposite sex. She was very intimidating and not particularly welcoming, but Naruto could already tell he could not escape her wanting gaze.

"Well, I guess I better go and see what she wants," Naruto said, his nervous tone revealed his inner thoughts.

As he walked off, he could almost feel Suigetsu's eyes bore into the back of his head. He definitely knew more than he was letting on, but there was not much Naruto could do.

"Finally decided to join me, huh?" She called out as he approached, that toothy smile not going away.

"I figured you had something you wanted to say." Naruto stopped a considerable distance from her—just enough so they could talk.

Ameyuri rolled her weight around the heels of her feet, fingers clenched around her two double edged blades. From what Mangetsu had said, they were known to be the sharpest weapons in all of the world. She could imbue them with lightning in a moment's notice, which basically offered her the ability to use Raiton techniques without any training or hand seals.

"That's right. You made quite a splash with that fight before, but I want to see just how long you can last against a real opponent." She spread her feet out into a ready stance and looked ready for a fight.

Naruto quickly realized she was not playing around and summoned his remaining kunai blade. He decided to wield it with both hands, since he knew it would take all of his strength just to hold back one sword of hers.

With his weapon out, he had finally amused Ameyuri to the point where she was practically jumping up and down in excitement.

"Don't go running away now. And if you give up, I might really fry you."

Her warnings did not sit well with him, but running was the last thing on his mind.

If he ran away, what kind of shinobi would that make him? Just like with the Demon Brothers, he would face her down as if it were a fight to the death.

Without a moment's notice, she leaped forward with her blades already gathering electricity. Given her small size, he had not anticipated she would be so fast. Naruto barely had enough time to bring his sword up to bear when her two fangs hit him with full force.

"Gah!" Naruto felt the lightning course through his body and struggled to hold himself together.

Ameyuri licked her lips and gave him one last push, forcing him down onto his back. She held one of her blades to his throat in a mock attempt to get his surrender.

Naruto forced his body to listen to his commands, as the lightning messed with his nerve control. With a single strike, he lazily batted her sword away and forced himself back onto his feet. That was just one strike and he could barely feel his extremities. There was no question why she was considered so frightening.

But, he would not give up so easily.

* * *

><p>Suigetsu watched from afar as Naruto and Ringo met again, their swords clacking against one another. He could only whistle in awe as the blonde was sent flying again. There was credit to be given when Naruto chose to stand up again.<p>

"Ringo-chan loves to beat up the newbies, right bro?"

Suigetsu remembered his own time in the ring with her; he could barely last a minute before he had to give up. For a man made of water, her lightning attacks were super effective.

"If he can hold out for a few more minutes, he'll earn Ameyuri's respect. That will go a long way in cementing his place here." Mangetsu, as always, offered the truth of what lied beneath the spectacle.

* * *

><p>"Well, I suppose that's enough. I've beaten you up enough for one day." Ringo reluctantly sheathed her swords as she watched Naruto lay motionless on the ground.<p>

The remnants of his blade were impaled into the ground some distance away, in one of the many craters they had created in their endurance match. After five minutes, the poor boy had finally collapsed from her strength. Still, Ringo was more than satisfied as she ended the training with a smile on her face.

He never gave up or tried to run. That was what counted, in her book.

"You know..." Ameyuri grunted as she pulled his arm over her shoulder. "Guys like you who don't run away are really my type."

Naruto's glazed eyes could barely focus on her, but his ears still worked somehow. After a few unsteady steps forward, he started to smile. It grew wider and wider as he felt like he had won, somehow.

"Thanks...Ringo-san."

"Don't thank me yet. The next time you train with me, I might just eat you alive."

They shared a hearty laugh as she carried him back over the Hōzuki brothers.

Suigetsu could only watch with a gaping maw, stunned by the events that he had observed. Never before had he seen someone last so long against Ameyuri, save for the other swordsmen. Not to mention Naruto actually got her to laugh; he had been trying to do that for years!

Even Mangetsu offered a bit of a smile to the returning champion.

* * *

><p>After he spent some time resting under the shade of a tree, Naruto was requisitioned by the newly arrived Ao. He said that he was sent by the Mizukage to speak with him about the ANBU, and so Naruto did as was requested of him and heard what the man had to say.<p>

Really, it was a short conversation. While Naruto knew little about the organization, aside from rumors and what they were told in school, there was little else Ao needed to describe about them. They took on the jobs other shinobi could not, and acted directly on the Mizukage's orders. They were held to a high standard, with rank and clan ceasing to matter upon induction.

The fact that his personal time would be severely curtailed, and that he could no longer actively support his clan in politics were facts that worried Naruto. The time he got to spend with his mother and father was precious. He also cared for the Uzumaki, and desired to continue to grow the clan's fame in the village by performing his duties.

"I know it's a tough decision, so I'll leave you to it. The best advice I can offer is to go with your gut and stick to it." Ao offered him another smile as he turned to leave. "Either way, the village has a shinobi it can count on."

Ao was clearly a man of few words. The way he spoke and moved displayed that he was always filled with some purpose, and he had a great sense of pride in the organization and the village he belonged to. Naruto envied that maturity, but he wondered if he could get the same if he chose to follow the traditional path of promotion in the Regular Forces.

Perhaps his mother and father could give him a better perspective.

"Yo, Naruto!" He turned to see Suigetsu running toward him.

"What's up, Suigetsu?"

Naruto figured they would still be training, considering how early it was in the day. It was rare for Suigetsu to get much free time when the swordsmen were back from the many missions they carried out.

"Zabuza-san just dismissed us for some last minute mission. Looks like you and I are free, since trainees aren't allowed to go on anything A-rank or above."

Suigetsu did not hide his disappointment very well, but there was always next time.

"Alright, let's go get something to eat. I'm starving." Naruto suggested, as if on cue with a stomach rumble.

Suigetsu chuckled and led the way forward. Even he could use a snack after a hard day's work.

"The usual place, right?" The Hōzuki brother asked.

"Of course!"

Naruto smiled, glad to know the restaurant had finally become the 'usual' for him and his friends. Maybe they could meet the others there as well. It had been a while since they had all eaten together.

* * *

><p>In a crowded marketplace, two members of the Uzumaki clan ate to their hearts' content. They sat on a wooden bench, near to where the small restaurant had served them their meals. They could eat inside, but they always preferred to enjoy the fresh air.<p>

Right now, the two were eating at two very distinct paces. One was calm and methodical, whereas the other one ate as if they had not been given a bite to eat in days.

"You should slow down, Karin. Otherwise, you may-"

"Don't say another word, Nagato! Othewise, my next punch won't be something you can heal; I'll send you right to Fusō Oba-san."

Nagato hid behind his long bangs of hair in an attempt to escape Karin's wrath. She always used her absurd anger to get him to shut up; if only Naruto and Suigetsu were around, she would have someone else to vent on. He knew she was eating her favorite Okonomiyaki pancakes, but shoveling them into her mouth was not exactly the most flattering thing to do.

"I don't...need to listen to your...advice on how to eat my food!" She loudly grumbled between bites.

Karin had been gone from the village for many weeks now. She had missed this flavor and texture of their favorite place to eat. Nagato could not complain either, as he was eating his usual favorite—fist stew, with just as much enthusiasm.

Nagato noticed two familiar faces in the crowd and waved them over. While Karin was too engrossed in her meal to notice them, Nagato indicated they sit on the opposite side of the bench table. He was glad to see the other two as the group of companions was now complete.

"Naruto, Suigetsu. Good to see you!" Nagato greeted them warmly, a nice contrast to his usual bashfulness.

Karin practically choked when she heard her crush's name. The half eaten bread in her hand was quickly set down as she tried to recover her feminine wiles. With a quick adjustment of her glasses, she saw Naruto had chosen to sit opposite of Nagato with the more than disgusting Suigetsu now across from her. She gave the water boy one of her usual glares and quickly turned her attention to Naruto; she could only melt at his tender smile he offered to Nagato, and her by extension.

Suigetsu, noticing this, garnered a daring smirk.

"Aw, isn't that just so cu-"

The table rumbled as Suigetsu was swiftly kicked in the shins.

"Ouch! Dammit, woman!" Suigetsu nursed his wounds while Karin directed her rising anger back at him.

"Shut the hell up!" With that last outburst, she quickly grew a hearty grin for Naruto. "Welcome back, Naruto-kun. How was your training?"

Naruto had quickly gotten used to these exchanges between Karin and Suigetsu, so he did not skip a beat in explaining his battle against the Demon Brothers and his introduction to the Seven Swordsmen. Nagato and Karin listened with genuine interest, while the miffed Suigetsu looked off into the sky with cheek in hand.

"And then, Ameyuri-san said I could train with her again next time." Naruto finished his story quickly, as he did not want to come off as a braggart.

He knew that Suigetsu was still a bit disappointed at how fast he had been able to win over the older girl.

"O-oh, I bet Ringo-san is a really nice person to help you out," Karin said with a sickeningly sweet smile that Naruto knew all too well from his mother.

She was plotting something behind those red eyes. The Ringo subject was now off the table, if he cared any for his life.

"Now that you mention your training Naruto, it sounds like you didn't get much chance to rest. Let me take a look."

Nagato got up from his seat and rounded the table, his hand already glowing green with healing chakra.

"Ah no, that really isn't necessary..." Naruto shook his hand in an effort to wave him away, but to no avail.

"Come on and let me take a look. My mother taught me some more this past weekend, so I should be able to take care it."

Sometimes it felt like Nagato was overly sensitive to their well being, but in the end he was just being a good friend. With his mother and father both acting as doctors in the village, he had a penchant for helping people. He really wanted to be a medical shinobi and it was his dream to one day be able to save anyone from death.

So, Naruto did not feel bad when he allowed Nagato to examine him and heal some scratches, since he knew how much it meant to his dear friend.

"Eh?!" Karin stumbled out of her seat and ran around to join Nagato. She rolled her sleeve up and offered it to Naruto. "If its healing, then I should be the one to-"

"Karin!" Naruto's uncharacteristically harsh tone made her jump a bit with an 'Eek!'; it even managed to snap Suigetsu from his daydream. "I told you already to not offer that kind of healing to just anybody. It's very valuable to our clan and I know the chakra expense is tough on you, so only use it when you really have to."

"But..." Karin struggled to come up with an excuse, but she could not get past Naruto's demanding eyes. When he made that kind of request of her, she could not refuse. "Right...sorry."

As Karin started to slide her sleeve back down, her excitement had quickly turned sour. She perked up when Naruto's hand suddenly took hold of her wrist, forcing her to pause.

When her eyes met his, Karin noticed him smiling. An attempt to return their mood back to a happier one, no doubt.

"I'm sorry, Karin-chan. You know I only say that-"

"You only say that, because you care. I know, Naruto-kun." Karin felt comfortable enough to smile, and her shoulders sagged in relief.

That was the Naruto she had fallen in love with.

"As cute as you two are, maybe I can-"

Suigetsu was shut up as Karin's free arm was sent flying into his face. All the while, she kept smiling and enjoying the moment with the now thoroughly uncomfortable Naruto.

She had hit Suigetsu so hard his face had melted again. Definitely, Uzumaki women were not to be trifled with.

* * *

><p>After everyone had settled down, Naruto and Suigetsu had finally gotten their own meals. Everyone was enjoying themselves with some lighthearted banter; even Suigetsu and Karin had reached the point they could talk to one another without immediately escalating into a fight. These were the times Naruto cherished most with his friends and family, and he only wished his mother and father could join him.<p>

Speaking of his mother, Naruto could feel her chakra approaching them. He was never much of a practiced sensor shinobi, but with Karin's advice and his mother's status as a jinchuuriki, her chakra was easy enough to discern in a crowd.

Karin too had perked up upon sensing someone familiar.

Naruto looked over his shoulder and saw his mother running down the street in her battle uniform. Alongside her was another Uzumaki from the Kiri barrier team, Honoka-san if he remembered correctly. His mother often talked about her 'cute little kouhai' from the barrier team, although as he understood it their ages were not so drastically different. He could tell they were on duty because on their sleeves they had the white barrier insignia of the interception team.

With a drawn out wave, he tried to get his mother's attention. He was in luck when he noticed the corner of one her eyes shift toward him, and she slowed down for a quick chat.

"Hey, Naruto-kun. Karin-chan, Suigetsu, and Nagato-chan too!" As always, his mother was full of energy as she made her way over to them.

"Welcome, Kushina-sama!"

Karin quickly got up from her seat and bowed.

"Nice to see you, Kushina Oba-sama," Nagato said, referring to Kushina as his honored aunt.

"Yo, Kushina."

Suigetsu embodied the term, laid-back, in his greeting. Luckily, his mother had gotten used to it.

"You all look like you are having a fun time. It has been a while since you've all been in the village together, right?" Kushina crossed her arms with a knowing smile.

It was not hard to see that they had truly been eating out and enjoying themselves. The table with one quick survey was made of a mess of empty plates. Conversation was the greatest appetite soother.

"Yeah, we were just talking about what we had been up to the past few days." Naruto paused. "Kaa-chan, where are you off to so fast?" He was much more interested in her mission than reminiscing.

Kushina's smile faltered when she remembered her duties. She uncrossed her arms and stood a little straighter, taking on the stance of a battle ready kunoichi.

"We detected a group of intruders outside of the village, along the main road." Quickly, the younger shinobi grasped the seriousness of the situation. "They haven't moved for a while, so we have been sent to ascertain their identities and stop them, if necessary."

"Are they dangerous?" Nagato asked quietly, all of his energy from the previous conversation gone.

"Could be. We won't know until we get there."

Kushina looked at Honoka, who had remained dutifully quiet up to that point. The young compatriot leaned toward Kushina, hand to her mouth to muffle her words.

"Kushina-senpai, we should go," Honoka whispered, not wanting to be rude.

Kushina had indulged a bit by stopping to talk, but the fact of the matter was they were on a tight schedule.

"Let me go with you." Naruto suggested. "It wouldn't feel right to let you go with just the two of you. If it gets dangerous, I want to be there."

"Naruto-kun, you don't have to-" Kushina appreciated her son's words, but she tried to dissuade him all the same.

"No, I want to go." Naruto respectfully stopped her from denying him. "Remember what you said, Kaa-chan, family is the most important thing. I would just worry if I let you go now."

Kushina knew better than to try and stop him. If he really wanted to go, he would just follow behind her. He really was like his father, and like her too she supposed.

Well, she would just have to protect him then.

"Alright, Naruto. You can come with me, but we need to go." Kushina noted with Honoka's silent insistence.

"I'll come too." Suigetsu offered with a toothy smirk. "I can't have you going off to look cool on your own."

Naruto chuckled and accepted that Suigetsu was not one to be outdone.

"Then, I'll be coming too."

Nagato stepped forward to join the other boys. Despite his kind heart, even he could gain confidence when he was around Naruto and the others.

"W-well then, I guess I have no choice but to come along as well. You might need someone from the Cypher Division, after all."

Karin found her own excuse to join, even if it was just to be close to Naruto.

Kushina could not help but laugh at just how close they were as friends. It made her happy to see her son come so far, so quickly. He really was becoming a great shinobi by having partners like that at his side.

"Okay everyone, follow me. We can't wait any longer."

Kushina started to run down the street at a considerable speed, and Naruto and the others quickly fell into step behind her.

The village passed them by in a blur of motion. They received a few concerned looks from villagers, but otherwise were left uninterrupted.

It was not long before they were in front of the village gate. There, they noticed someone leaning up against the stone wall. Another shinobi waiting to join them?

"Kushina-sama." Everyone stopped as the young woman addressed Kushina respectfully.

Naruto was immediately blown away by her beauty; long auburn hair, dark nail polish, piercing eyes. This woman screamed mature to him, and he found it difficult to meet her gaze. Was it only in his mind, or was she looking his way too?

"Mei-san, I didn't expect to see you here." Kushina greeted the other woman warmly.

"I know you are in a rush, but I'd like to request permission to join you." Such requests were growing more and more common, and Kushina really could not find a reason to say no.

Besides, she had a sneaking suspicion of the real reason why Mei wanted to come along.

"Of course. Having someone like you around would definitely put me at ease."

"Thank you very much."

Mei bowed in thanks and fell into step with the rest of the group. Her eyes wandered over all of them until they met Naruto's. When he tried to look away, she sent him an alluring glance. She had always loved to tease younger men.

Together, the large group of Kiri shinobi set out to investigate the disturbance.

* * *

><p>With Kushina in the lead, the group separated from the main road and started to move through the surrounding forest and underbrush. She did not want them to arrive in a conspicuous manner, for their own safety, and so everyone quietly followed along. The mist had thinned somewhat since they left the village, but it still offered considerable protection to hide their movements.<p>

"It should be just up ahead," Kushina whispered to Honoka and Mei, who remained the closest to her.

The other four were still able to hear and the excitement and fear of what could be around the corner started to bubble up within them. Would it be enemy shinobi? Or would it be another false alarm? No villages were technically at war with Kiri at the moment, but that had never stopped skirmishes from breaking out in the blink of an eye.

Then, Kushina held up a hand for everyone to stop. She signaled for everyone to come forward to where she was. Together, they all looked onto the main road from the cover of the bushes to see a large group of cloaked figures on the road.

A few of them were kneeling down and placing some sort of tags or seals on the ground. The rest were standing guard on either side of the road and in the trees. They were definitely shinobi, but it was impossible to make out their affiliation or identity with those black cloaks.

"Explosive tags." Honoka identified the suspicious items in question almost immediately.

That quickly escalated a few suspicious figures to a clear act of sabotage from another village. But why do something like that? Civilians traveled on the road just as much, if not more so than shinobi; they were innocents that would be hurt.

The cold logic of the enemy's plan was difficult for Naruto to swallow, but he knew there were no rules in war. All the more reason, he figured, that they would have to stop them before they could get away.

"We can't let them get away with this without at least identifying what village they hail from," Kushina said, biting her lip as she struggled to think.

"There are more of them, but if we worked together we could-"

Naruto's recommendation was dropped by his mother almost immediately. Her harsh glare was a very rare sight, but he knew she did not use it lightly.

"No. You four will stay back until we know just how strong these guys are."

"But, if you go alone..." Naruto knew his mother always put him first, but this was too reckless.

Kushina just smiled; as always, Naruto was thinking ahead. Unfortunately, her mind had already been made up the second Naruto and his friends joined the group.

"It's the parent's job to protect her children, ya know?"

That closed off any kind of discussion between her and the younger ones. Together with Honoka and Mei, his mother discussed their plan to confront the enemy and get them to reveal their identities. But, Naruto still felt it was too risky for his mother and Honoka to go without any kind of backup.

"Karin," Naruto turned to his cousin with fire in his eyes. "Follow me. I need your help with something."

With that kind of look, how could she refuse? Suigetsu barely held back a sigh as Nagato watched on, concerned as ever. He hoped Naruto was making the right decision defying Kushina. She was definitely not one to go against.

When Kushina turned back, she noticed Naruto and Karin were gone. Considering how headstrong he was, she was not surprised to see him go off on his own. But, if he was not careful then he could endanger the rest of them. She would just have to make sure her plan succeeded.

* * *

><p>Kushina and Honoka appeared in front of the suspicious saboteurs without warning. The ones closest leaped back into the relative safety of the group's formation. While some reached beneath their robes for weapons, most of the others just stood still like statues.<p>

As they had counted before, there were a dozen on the road. If they had any skilled sensor shinobi, they might have been able to hide a few more in the trees. Kushina was no pushover, but the people in front of her were completely unknown in their skillsets. A certain level of caution had to be considered, along with the risk of a direct confrontation.

"Identify yourselves. You are trespassing in the jurisdiction of Kirigakure," Honoka said with more than a hint of intimidation.

"That's the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki, no doubt about it. The other one is the Uzumaki subordinate." One of the men in the lead quickly identified them.

Kushina fought to avoid betraying her shock that they had such intelligence on them both. She had never left the village before as the Nine Tails jinchuuriki, so how could they know what she looked like? Had they already infiltrated the village?

This changed the situation drastically as Kushina went to grab something from her equipment pouch. Honoka as well realized the danger and spread her legs in a ready stance.

"So, it really is them. Perfect."

Another one of the shinobi made a quick hand signal and at their flanks, something fluttered in the bush. Before Kushina could even ready a kunai, she found herself unable to move. The enemy pointed at her feet, and she looked to see a foreign shadow had attached itself to her own.

_This technique, it can't be!_

From the bushes emerged two more shinobi, both holding their hands in the rat seal. Each move the users made, Kushina and Honoka were forced to mimic.

Now that they had been successfully captured, the rest of the figures finally shed their hoods. Underneath, they quickly revealed themselves to be hiding behind animal masks. Kushina knew now just how bad the situation was; Konoha had sent this ANBU squad to the village not to sabotage, but to kidnap her.

"No matter how strong you are, I'm afraid you won't break the Nara's Shadow Imitation so easily." The so-called leader, the one that had spoken the most, gloated over their weakness behind his bird mask.

"As for the rest of you, we know you are out there. Come out, otherwise I can't assure the safety of these women!" He shouted the order into the trees, to where the others were.

They definitely had talented sensor shinobi if they could detect them so easily. While it was almost impossible for a shinobi to easily mask their chakra, she knew that they had hidden themselves rather well before coming out.

Mei and the others, however, refused to show themselves. The leader then gave a signal to the Nara who forced Kushina and Honoka to grab kunai from their own pouches and hold it to their throats.

"I won't ask you again. The fact of the matter is whether we take them alive or dead, we still deny Kirigakure a valuable weapon. So, their lives are in your hands."

After a tense pause, Mei emerged from the bushes first. Considering the situation, she looked surprisingly calm. Following after her were Suigetsu and Nagato, both of whom were clearly overwhelmed by this twist. Kushina waited and waited for Naruto to come out, but he never did. What was he planning? Surely they knew that he and Karin were still...

"Alright, the rules are simple. Don't follow us, otherwise these women will be killed."

They must have not been able to sense Naruto or Karin for some reason. Now that she thought about it, neither could she. Kurama's power, while mostly out of her reach, did offer her some limited enhancement of her senses. She had always been skilled enough to pick her son and husband out of the crowd, but even now, it was as if he had disappeared.

Given the intricacies of her seal, she could not call on Kurama's chakra even if she wanted to. Considering the beast's immense strength, if she were to indulge it only once and allow the seal to weaken, all would be lost. To lose control here would harm the village, so she had to come up with something else.

Kiri's ANBU was never too far behind her when she was sent outside of the village, but given the enemy's level of intelligence on her, they might have foreseen the response time and adjusted accordingly. The others would not be able to pursue either, with their lives as captives being threatened.

Kushina might have needed her son after all.

* * *

><p>"Thanks for listening to me, Karin. If you hadn't come along, we would have been caught like the others," Naruto whispered behind him as Karin had her hand on his shoulder.<p>

Both of them were hiding in the bushes farther down the road from the enemy. When Naruto realized his mother was not going to let them help her confront the enemy, he knew he had to get ready for the worst case scenario. So, he decided to have Karin come along and help by using her ability to hide their chakra from the enemy sensor shinobi.

There was always the chance that they were still suspicious about the exact number of Kiri shinobi, but Naruto was willing to bet that after they thought they got their prize, they would give up trying to actively search for them.

Considering they were still alive, that must have been the case.

"Naruto-kun, we may be able to hide, but we're still completely outnumbered. Tell me you have a plan!" Karin was desperately trying to see the bright side of his idea, but she was starting to panic.

Naruto wanted to try and comfort her, but even he knew there was no guarantee they would succeed. The enemies they were facing were some of the best the enemy had to offer. No doubt, they had been training constantly to capture his mother and jinchuuriki like her, so he had to face the facts—he could not beat them on his own.

But, if he could just get his mother free, then they could work together to launch a counterattack.

"There is no way I'm going to let them take my mother. Just try and trust me, Karin." The strength behind Naruto's voice comforted her, at least a little bit.

Karin sighed, he only ever dropped the honorific when he was being serious. There was no talking any kind of logic to him now, so she just accepted she was along for the ride.

"When I start my attack, I want you to grab Honoka and run back to Mei-san and the others. I'll save my mother and take care of the rest."

If he let Karin leave first, she would be the first one back to relative safety. Besides, he figured their priority was keeping his mother and not Honoka.

"But, you can't fight all of these guys on your own!"

"I know, and I don't plan on it. If I can keep them distracted for a few seconds, I should be able to get a good head start behind you."

It was not the best plan he ever created, but it was something. Without any reinforcements, they would just have to make do.

_If the parent's duty is to protect their children from danger, it's up to the children to save the parent when they get into trouble._

Naruto started to gather his chakra as he watched the first few ANBU travel by. He would wait until the very last of them passed, with his mother and Honoka.

Then, he would give them a proper welcoming gift from the Village Hidden in the Mist.

* * *

><p>"Okay, that should be far enough." The leader of the ANBU squad ordered the group to halt.<p>

He walked up to Kushina, who could only offer him a glare in retaliation. This only served to amuse him as he looked between his captives with what could only be satisfaction.

"Alright ladies, time to seal your chakra for the ride. I can't have you getting in the way before we arrive on the mainland."

Kushina was powerless to stop his approach with the sealing technique. When he was just a hairsbreadth away, a golden chain shot out from Kushina's chest and impaled him clean through. His masked eyes looked down at the mortal wound, then slowly back up at the smiling Kushina, before his body began to collapse.

Kushina grunted as the Nara's shadow tightened around her, but she made no move to pull the chain back. She just laughed at the twitching body at her feet, disturbing the surrounding shinobi.

"That'll teach you to underestimate an Uzumaki, ya know?" Despite her temporary surge of power, she struggled against the Nara as they fought to get her under control again.

"Bind her! Seal her chakra now!"

Three more ANBU approached with equipment to hold her. They took their time getting close, as if she were some animal barring her fangs.

Honoka was not strong enough to resist as Kushina could; she could only watch as others approached her to do the same.

"**Suiton: Daibakufu!**"

From the edge of the road, hidden behind the mist, came a powerful wave of water the size of the tallest tree. The ANBU were taken by complete surprise, as they had not sensed anyone near them since they left Mei and the others. Most of them were able to leap away, but a few were taken in by the water and swept along underneath the current.

The Nara, unable to move lest they lose control of the captives, did their best to steady themselves by focusing chakra on their feet. The ANBU that were preparing to bind the women fell back and entered into a diamond formation with their katana ready. Together, they looked back and forth to try and find the source of the attack.

"Naruto!" Kushina called out to her son—she just knew it had to be him.

The blonde in question rode the water wave down toward the Nara. He moved as if he were skiing atop the surface, at a speed that made it difficult for the enemy shinobi to keep up. With little more than a sharp turn, he bypassed the ANBU defenders and went straight for the Nara.

The one in front of him now as the one that binded Honoka. With his kunai blade ready, he swept out in a wide arc and pierced the shinobi in the back.

The horse masked man let out a cry of pain as they were forced to release their jutsu. From behind the wave, Karin emerged and quickly took Honoka by the arm and ran off down the road.

The closest ANBU cursed and readied his blade to meet Naruto. When Naruto was in range, the Konoha-nin leaped forward in an attempt to cut him down.

"No!" Kushina screamed, fearing the worst.

The Naruto surfing the wave fell apart into water from the enemy's attack, revealing it to be nothing but a water clone. The ANBU looked around, trying to sense where the real one was. Below their feet, the water began to shift and bubble with something coming up from underneath the surface. None of them noticed until it was too late.

Dozens of water whips emerged from beneath the wave and entrapped the ANBU. The more they struggled, the tighter the ropes were made around their bodies. The last Nara found himself in danger of being strangled and was forced to release Kushina to fend off the water attack.

In a flash, Naruto had arrived next to his mother. With a hooked arm under legs, he prepared to carry her like a princess. He took off down the road after Karin, ignoring the ANBU and their desperate shouts to go after him.

"N-Naruto, how did you pull something like that off? I was worried the entire time, ya know?!" She realized her excited tic had come out again, but she did not really care.

A plan like that was something she would expect herself to come up with, considering how reckless it was.

"Come on Kaa-chan, there was no way I was going to let them take you. Have a little faith."

Kushina could not help but realize the way he was holding her was the same way Minato did when he first came to rescue her. At that moment, she saw his father take his place. Naruto had come so far, there was no denying that he really was Minato's child to go up against enemies like that alone and somehow beat the odds.

"Naruto..." Kushina leaned into his shoulder, mumbling her words beneath a relieved smile. "I'm so proud of you."

Naruto definitely heard her, and he almost tripped over his legs when he did. To hear her say that made him feel relieved. But, they were not out of the woods yet.

"Hang on, this is where things start to get tricky."

Naruto could see the others waiting at the end of the road. Karin and Honoka were in the back with Nagato while Suigetsu and Mei stood in front. He landed and quickly set his mother down with Nagato and Karin.

"Suigetsu, did you set them up?" Naruto asked as he joined them in the front rank.

The other boy nodded as he pointed out the flurry of tags that were scattered about the road and nearby trees. He did a little bit of re-purposing with the enemy tags while he waited.

"Of course." Suigetsu looked down the road and saw the now familiar cloaks billowing in the wind. "And it looks like they are right on time to enjoy the light show."

With a single hand seal, he forced the explosive tags to go off. The ANBU that had been traveling in the middle of the road were quickly caught off guard by a series of powerful explosions at their feet. On either side, the trees had their trunks shattered by another group of tags, forcing them to collapse onto the enemy formation.

They tried to scatter and avoid any remaining traps, but well over half the unit was out of commission by the time of the final blast. Those that were left pulled themselves out of the burning trees and acrid smoke. Now they were forced to stand off against the Kiri shinobi in a fight that had suddenly become equalized.

"Now we get to the fun part!" Suigetsu shouted with no small amount of glee. He and the others readied their weapons.

Mei held up her hand to indicate they should stay back.

"You've all done your jobs well. Now, it's my turn."

Mei shuffled in front of the group, standing between Kushina and the enemy.

The ANBU were wary of the new opponent and kept their distance. One of them was watching her particularly closely and leaned forward for a better look. He recoiled back when he finally recognized Mei's appearance.

"Mei Terumī. The deadly bloodline user of the Hidden Mist; the one that can use Yōton and Futton techniques!"

To hear she was capable of two rare elements like that forced the ANBU to pause. She definitely had not factored into their plans.

Not even Naruto could believe that she was the same person. At some point he must have met her, but to get to see her in action so soon was more than he had been expecting. Not only that, but if she was a Terumī then that meant they shared the same blood—the same kekkei genkai.

Mei offered her opponents a hollow smile. Rather than offer them comfort, however, the gesture only served unnerve them.

"I'm so glad to be recognized by men from other villages. It's unfortunate that you have to be the type of men who hide behind masks and kidnap women—you aren't my style at all." Mei went through a series of lightning fast hand signs. "I'll be sure to make your deaths slow and painful."

"Here she comes, get ready!" Said one of the black ops as he prepared his weapon.

"**Yōton: Yōkai no Jutsu!**"

From Mei's mouth came a large sheet of lava that flew high above the battlefield, and spread out to the sides. Given the scope of the attack, the ANBU were unable to dodge by jumping away. They were forced to scatter in random directions, but the attack came down sooner than any of them could expect.

Only a few survived the attack as they found refuge in the treeline. Together, they went through a series of hand signs for some sort of counterattack. From their mouths, they shot powerful streams of fire down at Mei and the others.

"**Suiton: Suijinheki!**"

Suigetsu and Naruto ran to Mei's side and, after finishing their hand signs, shot a great amount of water from their mouths. The wave arced up and acted as a wall to stop the fire. A great amount of steam rose as the attacks met, preventing them from seeing each other.

Once the water dissipated, Naruto and the others waited anxiously for the steam to clear. When they could finally see again, the enemy ninja were gone; the bodies of their fallen had been taken as well. An impressive retreat, considering the short amount of time they had.

Soon after, from the direction of Kiri, a large force of shinobi arrived on the scene. Naruto quickly identified them as Kiri's ANBU, with the village symbol adorned atop their smooth masks. They were lead by the same Hunter-nin from before, Ao, as he took them in pursuit of the enemy.

With reinforcements, everyone took that as a signal to rest. Naruto was forced into a tight embrace by his mother as she showered him with praise. He must have lucked out with his performance, since he was sure she was going to scold him over his audacious rescue.

"That was pretty intense..." Nagato muttered as Suigetsu and Karin joined him.

"Yeah, that lava technique was really strong. I'd definitely be afraid to have to go up against that," Suigetsu added, already shivering at the prospect of fighting someone like Mei.

"You would melt before the battle even started, pervert." Karin growled, as she noticed the disgusting looks he had sent Mei's way.

"Oh come on, I can't help it if she's-" Before he could finish, he could feel a shadow come over him.

"What's everyone so excited about?" Mei walked back over to their group and very quickly Suigetsu grew quiet.

When he met her eyes, he felt a dark malice hiding behind that killer grin.

"Naruto, thank you for protecting me. It was really heroic, ya know!" Kushina said as she nuzzled against her son in a terribly embarrassing way of showing appreciation.

"Yes, thank you very much, Naruto-san." Honoka formally bowed.

"Come on Kaa-chan, you know I'd never let anyone hurt you." Kushina could barely hold in her squeal and hit him over the head as a way to let out her feelings.

"You better remember to say that to a sweet girl some time down the road, since it was a good line!" Naruto was not so sure, but he nodded all the same.

Karin in that moment wished it was her that had been kidnapped over Kushina.

"Naruto-kun." He turned to see Mei had approached him. "That was an impressive plan to save Kushina-sama given the time you had to make it. You aren't so bad with Suiton either."

Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment as he struggled to come up with a respons; her compliments made him blush.

Kushina just smiled and placed a comforting hand on Karin's shoulder, as the poor girl was struggling to hold her tongue. For now, she would have to let Naruto go.

"T-thank you, Mei-san, but we were saved thanks to you. Your skills with the Terumī bloodline were extraordinary."

"Hoh..a young man that is humble over his own skills? You really are my type, Naruto-kun," Mei offered him another flirty gaze that made it difficult to speak.

Her very direct method of talking made it difficult for him to think properly. Naruto could not tell if she was doing it on purpose or not.

"When I watched your fight against the Demon Brothers, I was concerned you might be arrogant over your own abilities. I can see that I was wrong in that assumption. You really are the nice type."

All of these girl labels were something Naruto did not really understand. Similarly, Suigetsu and Nagato were just as lost. Somehow, his mother found the entire exchange amusing enough to laugh.

"Just tell him already, Mei-san. You don't have to butter him up so much."

Kushina finally pushed the issue on its head as she recovered from the spectacle of watching her son be flustered by a girl for the first time.

"Ah, of course." Mei switched off her flirtatious side in a moment. "Naruto-kun, I am to be your new sensei and teach you how to control your kekkei genkai. It's a pleasure to meet you. Please take care of me."

Mei formally bowed, though he thought for sure he could see her still looking at him with that devilish smile. He in turn bowed, unable to think of anything else to do.

"Please take care of me as well, Mei-san."

The news bewildered him, but was ultimately exactly what he wanted to hear. The moment he knew who she was, Naruto could not think of anyone else better than to teach him.

* * *

><p>In the Mizukage's office, Mei and Naruto stood together in front of Yagura's work desk. On their backs, they held a considerable load inside of their stuffed backpacks. The mission they were about to set off on was going to be a long one, so they had to take enough provisions to last the length.<p>

"The mission, as you know now, is a B-rank investigation that will take place in the Land of the Sea." Yagura held the scroll in his hands as he read through the details one last time. "I want you to find out more about this Akatsuki organization, and just what their intentions are in our territory."

"Of course, sir." Mei bowed. "Do we have any information on the group itself?"

"All that we know is that they are a mercenary group of shinobi and that their leader is someone named Yahiko. Do what you must to gather the information, but try to avoid direct confrontation." The Land of Sea had a limited military presence, so they would most likely be on their own should trouble arise.

Yagura trusted Mei to handle herself, but he was still concerned over Naruto's ability. That was why it was so important that during the course of this mission, Mei trained him to develop his kekkei genkai. Only then would he be able to fend for himself and be of more use to the village, and to Yagura.

"Understood, Mizukage-sama. We shall head out at once."

Yagura waved them off and watched quietly as they left the office. Things were progressing smoothly, despite Konoha's interruption.

* * *

><p>"So, this will be your first time leaving the main island?" Mei asked incredulously, as most Kiri shinobi had traveled more than that by his rank.<p>

"Yes, for some reason or another I've been stuck around here. I'm really excited to travel."

Together, Naruto and Mei walked out of the administration building and down toward the gate. His thoughts were filled with ideas of exotic foods and culture, but he knew the islands they were headed to were actually quite close. Still, anything would be a nice change of pace.

"Well, I think you will have plenty of fun in the Land of the Sea. The climate is a bit warmer there, and there isn't any mist to hide the sun." Mei expressed her knowledge on the subject, hinting that she had been there before.

"So, what is there to do for fun there?" Naruto asked innocently.

Mei smiled, very satisfied he asked.

"I plan on enjoying the golden beaches and having a nice swim. I hope you brought a pair of trunks for yourself."

Was she trying to get a rise out of him by implanting in his mind the idea of her in a bathing suit. With that mischievous smile of hers, he could never tell for sure. As much as he tried to avoid it, he could not help but imagine just what kind of swimsuit she had chosen and what it would be like to swim with-

"Naruto-kun, I'm going to leave without you! Hurry up!"

Naruto shook his head clear to see Mei well down the road, waving to him over her shoulder. There was no doubt in his mind she definitely would leave him behind if he did not get moving soon.

"Ah, wait for me!" He called out, struggling to put one leg in front of the other.

This woman was something else!

* * *

><p><em>I am very confident for now about the pairings I have selected. Unfortunately, Hinata won't show up for a little while longer, but I am very happy with her romance as it stands right now.<em>

_I'm sure you can all imagine that without Naruto in the village to inspire Hinata, she is a very different person. Konoha is, as well, a very different place with Orochimaru in charge and it is easy to worry about her. Naruto will be in a difficult position when he tries to make her acquaintance, but the story really turns into a princess trying to find the place where she truly belongs._

_Hinata's theme is Naruto Shippuden OST 1 – Track 13 – Kodoku (Loneliness)_

_Don't worry about Mei, she has her own complexities for Naruto to unravel. She may carry herself as a powerful kunoichi, but deep inside she has her own set of scars that comes from living in the times of the Bloody Mist._

_Please watch over Naruto and the others as Kirigakure continues to develop._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**


	3. Hidden Feelings

_Naruto of the Hidden Mist_

* * *

><p>Naruto laid upon his cot, staring at the ceiling in a desperate attempt to fall asleep. He had already failed to find anything else to pass the time, but he simply could not will himself to rest. There was not much to keep him occupied on the ferry as he waited to arrive in the Land of the Sea, so resting in his quarters made sense, but his mind would not stop playing back the events of the day.<p>

An odd bout of frustration bubbled in his gut as he thought back to when he and Mei had requisitioned the ferry for their own use. She had been the one to do most of the talking, and with that she was the one the sailors were interested in. Except, he could immediately tell their forlorn gazes and lecherous smiles were nothing but trouble.

What bothered Naruto the most, was that Mei did nothing to stop them. If anything, she flirted right back at them with her usual compliments and mannerisms. Maybe he just had a different impression of who Mei was, because he did not think she would act in such a way with people like that.

Was this the whole jealousy thing his mother had told him about? He had never really given it much thought, but Kushina's description of the feeling seemed pretty familiar. As sad as it was, Naruto had never experienced the feeling in the context of a woman.

Sure, he had met plenty of girls before from his clan and others in the academy, but outside of finding them attractive he had never pursued any of them. He always managed to keep himself busy and never had the time to explore those kinds of feelings, even if he knew what they were. Both Karin and his mother gave off a vibe of women that made Naruto want to avoid them, rather than get close.

So, it was only a matter of time until he ran into a situation like this. He had to admit, to feel this way about a person he barely knew was difficult to comprehend. On the other hand, how could a man not feel jealous when a beautiful woman like Mei offered you attention and then gave the same thing to another man without hesitation?

Naruto sighed and rolled off the more than uncomfortable piece of furniture. He was just overthinking things, as usual. If his mother was around, she would slap him around and tell him to just talk to Mei about it. But, he had no idea what to say, and the last thing he wanted to do was bother her about something that was completely his own problem.

So, Naruto decided to get some fresh air to clear his head. His father had given him that sage advice to follow when he was dealing with a particularly tough puzzle to solve. At the very least, he could get his mind off of things.

Mei was surely on deck, as she had not come in to rest since he went inside. With any luck, she had not noticed him turning in early. He did not want her to know that he was bothered by her earlier antics.

Unfortunately for him, Mei was known for being particularly observant of men.

* * *

><p>Apart from the gentle waters slapping against the wooden hull, the ship's exterior was silent. Naruto was relieved at that fact, since he was not in a talking mood. The sea salt in the air shook whatever tiredness had infested itself inside of him away. There was a bit of a chill in the air, but his clothing offered him ample protection.<p>

His mood quickly soured when he noticed Mei was perched atop the ship's railing, observing the full moon as it hung in the starless sky.

The one eye of hers not obscured by auburn bangs locked onto him as he approached. She welcomed him with her usual warm smile, but for some reason it did not carry the same weight as usual. In a way, the expression almost felt fake to Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, I'm glad you decided to come out. I was worried you would waste the trip sleeping."

Mei leaped off the rail and gently leaned back against it to better face Naruto. Her eyes did not betray any inner thoughts, but Naruto felt like she could see right through his act. Was that what it meant to go up against a mature woman?

He chose to not respond to her slight jibe, since he could not think of any retort with saying. Instead, he joined her at the side of the ship to enjoy the night sky. There was some distance between them he made on purpose, just in case.

Without even looking at her, Naruto could feel that smile of hers burning into the back of his skull. She could really smile in any situation—even one so awkward as this.

Luckily, Mei was courageous enough to speak the words he could not.

"Maybe we could spend this time to get to know each other? After your...reaction earlier to my teasing, perhaps I came on too strong?" Mei asked with such a tone that Naruto knew she was enjoying herself a little too much.

"You don't have to-"

Naruto tried to worm his way out of the conversation, give both of them a way out, but Mei shot him down. He looked at her, and she only laughed.

After recovering, Mei must have noticed his concerned eyes and waved him off. There was her smile again.

"It's fine. I only get tense when people speak about my love life behind my back, that's all," Mei said, her face softening. "Talking about things like this can be healthy, if you're the type to keep it bottled up."

Naruto remained silent, as it was clear to him that his teacher had something she wanted to get off her chest. As polite and welcoming as she was, he figured this was something she had been trying to bring up for a while.

Mei must have took his silence as an invitation to continue, so she did. That smile started to lose its luster as she began to reminisce on painful memories.

"If it wasn't already obvious, I enjoy speaking my mind. I can say with experience the habit has hurt more than helped, but my openness makes me who I am." Mei gestured to him. "I'm sure you too, have habits that others may frown upon."

Naruto considered her words and realized he too had his own quirks. Like his father, he often took his time in doing things, which bothered his mother to no end. And then, his determination to see things through to the end definitely exhausted his friends and foes alike, as they were much more willing to give things a rest early.

When Mei put her attitude in such a simple sentence, Naruto could not help but sympathize with her. Not only that, he started to understand. There was more to her story, however, as she continued.

"I haven't had much luck with love, unfortunately." Mei's words forced Naruto to look at her with open surprise. "That's one of the reasons why I am so forward, so I don't let an opportunity pass me by."

"I'm surprised," Naruto said, with a light blush splayed across his cheeks. "Maybe it's not my place to say, but you really are..."

Mei quirked her brow at his words, begging him to continue. Naruto began to blush as he could not think of a more subtle way of saying the words he wanted to say.

He shrugged and decided to take a lesson from his sensei in forwardness.

"You really are...beautiful, Mei-sensei," Naruto let the words come out as his tongue almost twisted.

Mei paused for a moment, considering what his words meant. Her smile quickly returned, but he could tell it was something akin of an adult smiling to a child begging for praise. She was definitely out of his league, as he expected.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. It warms my heart when a man tells me that, especially a _handsome_ one."

His blush deepened after her compliment, even if he knew better than to believe her. How could he not? Mei was the first one to compliment his appearance in such a way, apart from his mother.

"Finding a man who doesn't melt away is hard. My looks may help, but in the end I haven't found anyone that could last being my partner."

_Finding a partner who doesn't melt? What does she mean by that..._

Her choice of words were confusing, to say the least. On the other hand, her point was very clear to him. Well, considering her skill as a shinobi, not many men in the village could probably stand up to her in that regard. Maybe one of the seven swordsmen, but they were pretty frightening altogether.

"And, how about you?" Mei then chose to flip the question on Naruto.

Naruto paused, as he had not expected her to be interested enough to ask.

"About me?" He asked, dumbly.

Mei nodded, her teasing smile had returned.

"I noticed that Uzumaki girl was close to you on that last mission. Karin-chan, I think her name was?" Naruto could not help but freeze uncomfortably with his cousin being mentioned. "Do the Uzumaki have any plans marrying the two of you?"

"Definitely not!" Naruto answered rather quickly, and forcefully.

He wanted to avoid misunderstandings of that nature rather quickly, as he had the feeling Mei might be one to talk. Naruto still had some pride as a man left, after all.

"Oh?" Mei sounded amused.

"I may like Karin as a friend, but she's way too..." Naruto considered his words but could not find anything better to describe her. "Aggressive, for my tastes."

"Well then, what is your type of woman?" Mei noticed him shrink at the question. "If I may ask, of course," she added, as an afterthought.

"Well, I never really gave it much thought," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "But, if I had to say, someone who was pretty calm and selfless would be good. Maybe not quiet, but someone who knows the right moment to say something and says it without fail. I guess, someone mature?"

Naruto spouted off whatever came to mind first, his sentences fragmented with many pauses as he thought over the question thoroughly.

Mei took his words in and considered them quietly. She was hard to read, as she kept that same chipper mood throughout.

"My mom always said to find someone like her, but I'm not so sure that's a good idea." Naruto put on a smile, though thoughts of his mother's wrath were anything but relieving. "The idea of getting hit over the head all the time doesn't sound fun."

Mei laughed at his expense as he revealed one of the more sensitive facets of his relationship with his mother.

"Naruto-kun, your expressions are so revealing, it feels like I know exactly what you're thinking. I had no idea your mother was that type."

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you kept silent on the subject. Things would only get worse if she were to find out."

His mother considered her fists "filled with love", and would not take no for an answer. As much as he loved her, Naruto wished she would hold back some.

"In the end, every man desires the same thing: a woman that can support him, no matter what. Right?" Naruto shrugged in agreement as Mei turned her attention back to the unending sea behind them. "I've been set on becoming a woman who could support any man, but now I only settle for one that can never disappear."

Naruto detected a slight break from Mei's usual tone at the end of the sentence. What he could see of her face had hardened as well, as she must have remembered something uncomfortable.

"When I find that man, that's when I'll stop talking about other men. Because," Mei turned to Naruto, her cheerful smile had returned. "All I would want to do is see and speak about him, after all."

Naruto thought for a moment that whoever that man was, if there was even someone out there that could live up to her expectations, was a lucky guy indeed. He could tell for sure that Mei was not lying about any of that.

_With that kind of loyalty, how has she not found a guy yet?_

Naruto noticed something strange as Mei turned back to the sea. As her eyes reflected the moon that hung high in the night sky, her hands touched for a moment.

For a fleeting moment, he caught Mei as she longingly caressed her ring finger.

* * *

><p>Upon their arrival in the Land of the Sea, Naruto and Mei quickly disembarked from the vessel they had used as transport. To Mei's credit, while she allowed the men around her to fawn over her as much as they liked, she did not return their sentiments and urged Naruto to follow her closely. The country was still in the thick of night, and there was the possibility of danger behind every alley.<p>

"We can begin our mission tomorrow. For now, let's find a place to rest," Mei said, after they had escaped the docks together.

"Sounds like a good idea. Any idea where we should look?"

Since he had never been outside of the village before, he would not have much luck with directions. With any luck, the jonin would know better.

To his relief, Mei simply offered him a smile and silently urged him to follow.

"As I said before, I've been here a few times," Mei said, after a considerable amount of walking. "And there is a lovely inn right around here."

Naruto would have to take her word for it. The neighborhood they were in at the moment was very run of the mill, peasant class shacks he had become accustomed to seeing outside of the hidden village. The wealth disparity only became more and more noticeable the farther out from the main island they got.

"As I remember, there _were_ a few rough types that hung around the bar." Mei mumbled quietly as she struggled to remember. "The place is friendly to Kiri shinobi though, which makes it best for us."

The Land of the Sea was a protectorate of the Land of Water, so having a population of shinobi supporters was no surprise. Contracts made long ago between daimyo made it quite clear the land was under the protection of Kiri shinobi, and Naruto was recently made aware they had a garrison living there. Still, there were bound to be people who felt completely the opposite and opposed the presence of shinobi, who were basically weapons of war to threaten other nations.

Having a garrison, in the end, made the Land of the Sea a target to any nation that had a problem with Kirigakure and the Land of Water.

Fortunately, the Third Shinobi World War had ended some time ago and with it removed the risk of large scale conflict emerging without warning. On the other hand, war could start again with a single spark.

"Come on Naruto, this is it."

Naruto woke from his thoughts to find Mei already entering what looked like a traditional-style compound that housed what he could only guess was the inn.

Together, they approached what looked like the front desk with a single woman waiting to receive them. She dressed in a faded pink kimono, and was considerably aged. Still, she welcomed them both with the proud smile of the owner of the establishment.

"Welcome. We haven't received any Kiri shinobi in quite some time," The old woman said, as Naruto quickly recognized the familiar voice of the neighborhood's friendly grandmother.

"Thank you," Mei said as she bowed, with Naruto following her example. "Naruto, please see to the arrangements. I would like to see their bar."

_She doesn't seem like the drinking type, but fair is fair._

With the innkeeper, he was able to acquire a two room suite with sparse furnishings. He decided to give Mei some time on her own, as she had yet to return, and check out their rooms. The halls were open to the outside, just covered by thin roofs, and Naruto very much enjoyed the garden scenery.

Inside, Naruto deposited his sandals as well as his heavy flak jacket and waist pouch. They had themselves two futon beds, as well as a warming table and cushions. That would be enough for their stay, he thought.

Naruto was starting to get concerned that Mei had not come back and decided it would be best to go find her. He sincerely hoped she was not one of the adults who did not know how to hold their liquor, or ignored their limit. Somehow, Mei did not strike him as either, so there must have been some other reason.

With a slight urgency in his step, Naruto retraced himself back to the front desk. From there, he stepped through the sliding door into the drinking den that Mei had decided to investigate.

He froze in the doorway as he watched the spectacle of men going on in front of him. A bunch of beasts in men's clothes had surrounded his teacher again. Their perverted gazes were more than enough to disgust him, but Naruto held his tongue.

Out of respect, Naruto offered Mei the chance to get up of her own accord.

* * *

><p>"Ya know, there just ain't any pretty Mist ladies like you 'round these parts!"<p>

"Yeah yeah, he's right! You plannin' on stickin' around? I gots a room..."

"Oi oi, don't go askin' somethin' like that! We all want a chance..."

"Yeah!"

Mei sighed as she once again found herself surrounded by simpletons. Of course, when she told Naruto she wanted to visit the drinking area, she had motives that did not include her drinking alcohol. On the other hand, she had hoped she would find someone other than an amorous group of sailors, mixed with lecherous old geezers.

To save face, she had ordered a small bottle of sake and had been nursing the same cup for the past ten minutes. She waited for a savior to come, but every passing moment another man tried to hit on her, she felt chances of escape fading away.

Then, she heard the door slide open and could not help but spare a glance. Of course, she risked fetching the eye of one of her many 'admirers', but it was worth the risk if it meant Naruto had come for her. Much to her delight, the whiskered youth had finally come to chaperone her away.

Considering their previous conversation on the ferry, she quickly noticed Naruto was giving off familiarly jealous vibes. This of all things made Mei smile again, as she found his protective tendencies to be rather cute if not entirely unnecessary.

Rather than give the men around her false hope the smile was meant for them, Mei stood up and approached Naruto without even offering them a second glance.

"Naruto-kun, I assume you've gotten us a room?" Her alluring voice and gaze was all focused on Naruto now, who was thoroughly flustered from her sudden change.

With a certain sway in her hips, Mei put on a good show for those present. She also made it very clear with an arm around Naruto's waist that she would have no more of their disgusting attempts to bed her. For a moment, she regretted using Naruto in her scheme without his permission, but she knew that he would enjoy himself if only a little bit.

"Let's go then, I'm very tired. We need rest, for tomorrow," Mei said as she led him out the door.

Her tone made it clear that disagreeing was the worst possible thing to do, so Naruto willed himself to nod in agreement. Together, they headed for their room; one was relieved to have escaped, and the other was feeling particularly frustrated after seeing through the crafty manipulation.

* * *

><p>Naruto found himself in the middle of the wilderness the next day. Under Mei's watchful gaze, he was practicing the basic principles of manipulating earth and fire natures. Both of which were key to manipulating his first kekkei genkai, Yōton. While at first he had questioned if training was the best idea, considering their mission to investigate Akatsuki, he could not argue the fact that he desired to unlock his latent abilities as soon as possible.<p>

"Good, Naruto. Keep going, feel the chakra change as you knead it with the seals." From the shade of a tree, Mei offered him advice outside of the sun's harsh rays.

He could not help but glance over toward her as she had decided to try a change in uniform—whether it be for the mission or just a change of pace, he could not say. Mei had decided to forgo her black, baggy undershirt for a tight mesh armor that extended across her arms and chest. As if to accentuate her feminine wiles more, Mei had also unzipped her flak jacket to reveal a considerable portion of her bust.

Naruto grimaced—how was he supposed to concentrate with _that_ in his peripheral vision? His determination once again solidified as he thought of his father and his dedication to training, and the village. During his training sessions, Kushina must have been around, but look at the progress his father had made!

Beautiful women were obstacles to be overcome, nothing more! With a mental roar of strength, Naruto pressed forward with his training with even more vigor than before.

* * *

><p>Mei noticed Naruto's captivated gazes toward her and smiled. Though he was a bit simple in regards to love and women, Naruto was honest, which was something Mei could respect. His humbleness prevented him from speaking his mind, but she liked that too. At the very least, he was a step up from the usual cut of men that surrounded her.<p>

When he turned back to focus on his training, she could not help but notice a surge of energy flow through his body. She wondered what had gotten him so worked up? No matter, the harder he worked now the better results he would have by the end of the trip.

Yagura wanted to see a proper kekkei genkai user made out of Naruto by the time they returned, so she planned to do her best to ensure that both Naruto and Yagura left their relationship pleased. The thought of being removed as Naruto's teacher, if only for a moment, saddened Mei—she had to admit that she had come to like the responsibilities that came with watching over a pupil.

But, maybe she was spoiled with the hard working, attentive personality her student brought to the table.

"Okay, Naruto. Let me tell you a little about the kekkei genkai we share, as inheritors of the Terumī bloodline," Mei said, as Naruto continued to experiment with his chakra natures.

Naruto grunted out some kind of acknowledgment as his focus remained on his training.

"As I'm sure you have figured out by now, we have two kekkei genkai. One, Yōton, is the famed Lava release that allows us to manipulate the same liquid, molten rock that moves underneath our feet."

"With our chakra, we combine earth and fire to create this lava where it acts as a type of corrosive substance. The substance itself is very flexible and hardy once dried, and is easily manipulated like a kind of syrup."

Surely Naruto remembered her fight against the Konoha ANBU, where she employed the Lava release to deadly effect. The lava her clan was capable of creating was considerably different than the natural variant, which in turn meant they could not manipulate the element directly from the earth. That said, the chakra kneaded version was much more effective in conventional shinobi warfare, and was difficult to counter considering its rarity.

"Something you should know is that our enemies in Kumo and Iwa both have developed their own versions of Lava release," Mei said with some amount of regret, eliciting some interest from her student. "Outside of the Four Tails jinchuuriki, however, no one has been able to replicate lava like the Terumī have."

Whereas Kumo and Iwa developed rubber-like substances with their chakra, they failed to replicate the powerful heat associated with real lava. Mei was not one to mock her enemies, however, and she had to give them credit for making such powerful techniques suit their needs, despite their innate failure.

"The other kekkei genkai is Futton, Boil release. Another corrosive style of attack, we knead chakra into an acidic mist that we control—in both size and acidity."

"The one sticking point is that your allies will be damaged by such an attack, so you must take care to use it only when you and your opponents are alone."

Naruto hesitated to continue with his training after she went over her last point. She was glad that he was still paying attention, though she wondered if any of her words were having an effect on him.

"Can another kekkei genkai user survive the mist?" Naruto asked a reasonable question in response.

"Unfortunately, the chakra only avoids damaging a person with the same chakra signature," Mei answered based on her own experience, from being wounded by her mother's technique. "However, a fellow Boil release user may build up resistance to the acid, given time. They will never be safe from its effects, however."

For some reason, that fact gave Naruto some relief as his shoulders noticeably sagged. To be honest, Mei was not even sure that much was true as it was just extrapolation on her own part. But, given her experience training with her mother, the theory was reasonable enough to have some merit; Mei was able to last against her mother's own technique longer as she grew older.

"Consider yourself lucky, Naruto," Mei said to him with a smirk, as he prepared to continue. "Very few in the Terumī ever awaken this kekkei genkai, and most of them are women. Use the power wisely, alright?"

Naruto returned her smile and nodded. That was her first advice given to her student, and it felt kind of good. It was as if he might actually take her words to heart.

Eager to continue, Mei decided that Naruto had been given a long enough break. She felt he was finally ready to get to the meat of his training: the implementation of his kekkei genkai.

"Okay Naruto-kun, that's enough practice. I think it's about time I teach you your first technique."

Mei waved the eager boy over and had him stand off to the side, out of her range.

"Watch closely..." Mei went through the hand seals slowly on purpose.

_Dog, Boar, Tiger, Ox, Rat, and Bird._

"**Yōton: Yōkai no Jutsu!**"

Mei released another sheet of lava, similar to the attack in the previous day, except on a much smaller scale. The orange-yellow substance spread out in the air from her mouth and enveloped a cluster of trees in the distance. A large amount of steam was created as the wood began to melt under the great heat and pressure.

Naruto watched in silent awe as Mei wiped away a bit of the substance that dripped from her lip. She always was a little messy—if her mother was around, she would have surely scolded Mei.

"That was my most flexible Yōton technique. The shape and amount of lava can be changed as you see fit, and the power behind the technique is limitless."

Mei did not believe in a slow introduction when it came to training with new techniques, so she thought it best Naruto try and replicate her rather than take his time with the basic elements. Considering his talent, those instructions should be no problem to follow.

"Think you can do it?" She asked with another smile.

Naruto's gaze was still focused on the now melted portion of forest. The destructive potential of the technique was immense and awe inspiring for those unfamiliar. When he turned back to her, she could see in his eyes the inspiration needed to succeed.

"Yes, Mei-sensei. I can do it."

He was brimming with confidence, which spread to her as well.

"Good. I need to step out and see if I can get some information on Akatsuki, so I'll return in an hour or so."

_Giving him a time of arrival will offer more incentive to complete the technique faster._

Mei turned to leave, but then hesitated a moment.

"If you have trouble completing the technique, try visualizing the result in your mind. That should help get your elements to combine properly," Mei offered him some advice, rather than leave him completely in the dark. "I'll be back soon."

With that, the jonin disappeared in a blur of motion. She had to speak with the border guards and see if they knew anything about her targets. Yagura would expect good results from this part of the mission as well, so she could not afford to fail.

* * *

><p>Just as Mei promised, she returned after close to an hour had passed. The results on her end had turned out positively, as some Kiri shinobi on the island had already taken upon the task of trailing Akatsuki. A risky but necessary maneuver, which made it easy for Mei to get into contact with the organization.<p>

Now, she and her student would be meeting with their supposed leader, Yahiko, within the next few days. With any luck, Naruto will have learned enough to act as her partner in a pinch, though she held no reservations. Despite his parent's reputation, there was no reason for her to expect Naruto to perform as well under pressure as they did.

Still, she hoped to see he had at least managed to combine the elements successfully. Even that was enough to stump many Terumī children during early training. It remained to be seen just how an Uzumaki would handle the chakra requirements.

Mei was now at the edge of the training ground, hidden from view behind the thick treeline. She quickly noticed the clearing she and Naruto had been occupying was littered with dried lava puddles, and the landscape was similarly scarred with scorched markings.

_Well, someone has been busy._

"**Yōton: Yōshoukai!**"

Just as she started to look for her student, she heard him name a technique that even she did not recognize. Following the voice, she found Naruto high in the air with a large amount of chakra built up in his mouth. In rapid succession, he fired small lava bullets down at the ground, further pelting it with orange clumps of acidic syrup.

When his technique ended and Naruto fell back to the ground, Mei felt it was safe enough to emerge and reveal her presence. If her intuition was right, Naruto had done more than simply replicate her technique; he had developed his own, and within an hour.

His chakra control was definitely impressive, and it must have only gotten better by juggling two elements at the same time.

"Naruto-kun, that was very impressive. What was that technique?"

He was a little surprised to see her waiting there. The hour she had given him must have flew by.

"Ah, Mei-sensei. Well, I was able to figure out the technique you gave me, but I wanted to see if I could create something that could be used with less hand signs, to increase my speed."

His explanation made some sense, at least. Given enough practice and skill with chakra, one could make more efficient use of techniques by creating smaller, less powerful versions without the same preparation time.

"I have these smaller bullets down to three hand seals. They don't burn as long, but they fire much faster and use less chakra."

Mei hid her enthusiasm behind her chipper demeanor, but really, she was more than impressed with his progress. She had heard that Minato, his father, had been a child prodigy and was capable of replicating jutsu from other villages from only observation, but to actually see such talent in action was another event entirely. For a moment, she wondered if her presence was even necessary.

But, she knew that Naruto's skill with the kekkei genkai would be highly reliant on her guidance. There were techniques that only Mei had been able to master, that not even the masters of old had been able to create. Yagura was not wrong in selecting her to be Naruto's mentor, and so she promised herself she would see his training through to the end.

Now only proved she was sure to learn a thing or two as well from her intrepid student.

Mei quickly realized Naruto was eagerly waiting for her response. He nervously held the back of his neck and was struggling to hold her gaze. She found his nervous side just as cute as his jealous one.

"Nicely done, Naruto-kun." She offered him a piece of candy from her pouch, which he took after a moment's of hesitation. "Now, let's move on to Futton."

His incredulous look forced her to put on a stern visage.

"I won't go easy on a genius like you. Come on, follow me."

She turned on her heel to go to a different part of the training grounds. Mei's smile quickly returned when she noticed him stumble after her.

_What a promising young man._

* * *

><p>Naruto and Mei were now in the meeting point arranged with Akatsuki. Their counterparts stood across the field from them, Amegakure shinobi known as Yahiko and Konan. Apparently they were famous, or perhaps infamous, in their homeland as revolutionaries.<p>

The fact of the matter was that the two were a long way from home. Amegakure had no relationship with the Mist shinobi, and as far as Yagura was concerned, they were trespassing.

So, with that in mind, Mei had Naruto stay on guard. They would be taking an aggressive form of diplomacy against the Akatsuki members. Kiri had the advantage of playing on the home field, after all.

"Welcome, Kiri shinobi." The male spoke, his spiky orange hair somewhat reminded Mei of her own young pupil. "We should start with introductions, wouldn't you say?"

"Very well, you may go first," Mei said with an oddly authoritative tone.

This was Naruto's first time hearing her speak in an official capacity. She could not always remain lighthearted, especially in front of enemy shinobi. For the sake of Kiri, they were to remain strong and steadfast.

"I am Yahiko," said the man.

"And I am Konan." The female went next, she was easily identified with the lip piercing and origami ornament in her hair.

Both wore dark robes with sharp red outlines along the seams. The man had some kind of sword on his back, while the woman had a large pouch strapped to her waist. Together, they both wore the Amegakure hitai-ate on their foreheads, indicating some pride in their village.

Something was off about them though, Mei could feel it.

"I am Mei Terumī, Jonin of the Village Hidden in the Mist." Mei made sure to add her title as an additional layer of intimidation.

"And I am Naruto Uzumaki, Chunin of the Village Hidden in the Mist." Naruto in turn followed her example.

_Good boy, Naruto._

"State your business here in the Land of the Sea, Akatsuki. From there, we can discuss whether or not the Mizukage gives you his blessing or not." Mei did not mince words as she made Kiri's standpoint on the discussion clear; give a good reason, or leave.

"You..." Konan narrowed her eyes at Mei's thinly veiled threat.

Yahiko held her back with a hand over her shoulder. He simply shook his head at Konan's unasked question and then offered Mei his answer.

"We are missing-nin, exiled from Amegakure. In the Land of the Sea, we seek our comrades who have gone missing here."

"Yahiko!" Konan shouted, unable to hold back her disapproval.

"Calm yourself Konan, we can't afford to get into fight by lying."

Mei narrowed her eyes over the answer he offered them. Missing ninja, exiled from their village? And yet they still wore the hitai-ate, without concern of retaliation. Something about their group was not adding up.

"I appreciate your honesty, but you will need to explain your status as missing-nin. You still wear your village's hitai-ate without any marks, which makes me question the truth behind your loyalty."

Naruto watched Mei lead the conversation with nothing but respect. He had no idea she could be so shrewd and demanding, she was getting the other group on every point they made.

"We were part of an internal power struggle within the Land of Rain, where we opposed Hanzo, the village leader. Though we have been exiled, we still remain loyal to the people of the country." Spoken with such conviction from Yahiko, Mei could not help but want to believe him.

"I have already made clear that the Mizukage holds some reservation over your presence here. What is your purpose?"

As much of a concern as their exile was concerning the diplomatic nuances between countries and shinobi villages, their purpose in the Land of the Sea was much more relevant to the mission at hand. If they were there to cause trouble of any kind, Mei and Naruto would have no choice but to fight.

Both sides had promised to come without any kind of escort, so if things got ugly, the two Kiri shinobi would be on their own. Mei could not tell her opponent's strength easily, but she could tell that they had worldly experience and had most likely participated in a considerable amount of battles. Naruto could not compare to them, given him being raised during peacetime and out of the Bloody Mist era.

Mei would need to be very careful in how she handled the conversation from there.

"We are here, searching for our comrades. We lost contact shortly after they came to this place," said Konan.

The one to answer her was the young woman, who seemed to act as Yahiko's second in command. It was obvious to Mei that she was taking a similar stance in how to use diplomacy, as she was not so willing to divulge details to Kiri shinobi.

From what she had observed so far, Mei had come to one simple conclusion.

* * *

><p>Naruto had to give it to the Ame exiles, they were a brave bunch to go toe to toe with his teacher in a verbal game of cat and mouse. Nothing they said sounded like a lie, but his gut was telling something was wrong.<p>

"Thank you for offering that information, however, it's clear to me that both of you are lying." Mei's delivery of said line was completely calm, as if she were stating a well proven fact.

The blonde found it difficult to hide his surprise and he noticed the Ame shinobi were similarly unnerved. What did Mei mean, that they were lying?

"The Mizukage gave me clear orders on what action to take, should I find Akatsuki to be a dissident element. Considering your status as missing-nin, your presence here is already dangerous enough."

Mei made no attempt to hide her suspicions as her emerald eye narrowed on her two opponents. Though she made no move to weave hand seals, her stance did stiffen.

Naruto similarly got into a battle stance with a kunai at the ready. He was not sure he knew the entire situation, but he trusted Mei was making the right decision. No matter what, he would protect her.

"Are you threatening us?" Konan asked as she held both arms out in front of her as the start of her technique.

Naruto noticed that her body began to separate and form pieces of paper. That must have been an attack of some sort, but Naruto had never seen that kind of ninjutsu before. He would need to be especially careful with her.

Before Konan could completely lose her arms to the technique, Yahiko held up his hand in front of her to stop.

"Can we work this out diplomatically? I have no desire to fight either of you." Yahiko made the request, pleading with Mei to calm herself.

"Your presence here is enough for the Mizukage to consider the Akatsuki trouble, so you will need to leave immediately. If those terms are unacceptable, then we _will_ use force."

Mei refused to back down as both sides looked as if they were going to be brought to conflict. The orders provided to Mei were clear, and she had no intentions of disobeying them, however heavy handed they were.

Yahiko narrowed his eyes and relinquished his hold over Konan. His own hand drifted to the hilt on his katana, gripping the worn hilt.

"It seems we have no recourse then."

Both Ame shinobi prepared for battle as Mei began weaving hand seals.

"Naruto, get ready!" She shouted in warning as the fight was to commence.

"Right."

Naruto joined Mei at her side, weapon in hand.

A moment before the two sides commenced their attack, both Yahiko and Mei felt something. Something else, something close. Whatever the new presence was, it was uninvited and unwelcome to both groups.

"Naruto, back up!"

"Konan!"

Together, the leaders shepherded their subordinates away from the field moments before it was set ablaze in a powerful explosion. As they leaped away, they noticed they had just escaped a rain of explosive tag kunai. The only source was from the nearby forest, its treeline shrouded in darkness.

Akatsuki and Kiri both landed close to one another, now facing the new threat together. Their reactions were clear that neither side had endorsed the ambush, and that they were dealing with an entirely new enemy.

"Who are you? Show yourselves!" Yahiko shouted, readying his katana in front of himself.

From the trees came a dozen figures, all cloaked in dark robes. Their speed was impressive as they were upon Mei and the others given just a few seconds. The space of time was just long enough for Mei to complete her technique.

"**Yōton: Yōkai no Jutsu!**"

Mei released a long stream of lava from her mouth. The attack coated the ground in front of them, preventing their enemies from running at them any farther. Some of the enemy shinobi chose to leap over the lava, through the thick steam, toward Mei.

This time, both Naruto and Konan stepped forward to launch their counterattack. Naruto went through a few hand seals and built up chakra in his mouth, while Konan began to harden the paper around her to be as strong as shuriken metal.

"**Yōton: Yōshoukai!**"

"**Kami Shuriken!**"

Their attacks launched in tandem; Naruto's lava bullets and Konan's paper shuriken. They ripped into the enemy, who were completely vulnerable in mid-air. Both attacks ripped and melted the enemy's clothes and skin, and quickly revealed their identities.

Mei and Naruto recognized them as the animal mask wearers from before: Konoha ANBU. Yahiko and Konan also seemed familiar with their presence, given their lack of reaction.

A few were able to get through the flurry of attacks and land safely on the opposite side of Mei's lava. Naruto met one in combat, his kunai clacking against the enemy's tanto blade, a tipless variant. The other two split off to attack Konan and Mei, as they were considered the largest threats.

"Bastard, who sent you?!" Naruto demanded of the faceless man, but he received nothing in turn.

Their standoff was broken when the ANBU tried to reach for Naruto's neck with his free hand. Before he could get close, Naruto put all his strength into his kunai and pushed the man backward. Now that he was off balance, Naruto finished him off with a punch straight to his mask, shattering the porcelain. The force of the blow sent him flying back into the lava and made him burn in agony.

Yahiko freed his blade from the ANBU's chest, shucking the blood with a single swipe. When the enemy had turned their back on him to go after Konan, he finished them in one strike.

Mei, likewise, had finished off her opponent rather quickly with a series of taijutsu strikes. Apparently, they thought her weak at close range given her talent with ninjutsu; she was glad to disappoint them.

The steam from the earlier attack had begun to clear and revealed that the others were beginning to retreat.

"Konan, do it!" Yahiko shouted.

"Understood."

She let loose a single piece of paper that approached the enemy with great speed. Once near, the paper gently applied itself to the black cloak and mimicked the color. Now hidden from plain sight, a piece of Konan was now attached to the enemy attackers which she could use to track them.

"Let's go!"

Both Akatsuki shinobi leaped away in pursuit of their ambushers. They left no invitation for the waiting Kiri group.

Mei was not one to be left out of a mystery, especially when it concerned someone who put her life in danger. They might learn something about Akatsuki, as well as their attackers if they followed. Yahiko seemed particularly interested in tracking them, as if he had been expecting the ANBU to come after them in the first place. She wanted to know why he had come expecting such an attack.

"Naruto, we are going as well. Follow me!" Mei disappeared after them, with Naruto not far behind.

Whatever the truth was behind Akatsuki's presence, Mei was determined to find it.

* * *

><p><em>Mei's personality is a tough one to lock down. She's definitely very interesting, if nothing else. Her romance is going to be long and drawn out; poor Naruto, he has his work cut out for him.<em>

_I have two new images for this story on my profile._

_One of the images uploaded onto my profile is a bit spoiler-ish, but I am so proud of how it came out I had to put it out. Consider it something to think about. Note, as said on my profile, I did not make the original image and only edited it! Credit is given to original artist, as well as a link._

_If you haven't already, check out my profile and participate in the poll. I'm interested in your opinion._

_Please send me messages, along with reviews, with comments, questions, and concerns. I really love this story, and I only get more and more ideas as I go._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**


	4. Hashirama's Legacy

_Naruto of the Hidden Mist_

* * *

><p>Mei and Naruto had tracked the two groups of shinobi to the outskirts of the central island. There, off the coast of Mother island and in the direction of Jiro's beaches, they found a structure of some sort. Their only guess was that it was an artificial island, built for some specific purpose. For it to not be found by the Kiri garrison meant that whoever had constructed the place had the skills and the purpose to keep it hidden for a reason.<p>

Together, the two approached what looked like a castle embedded into the cliff face. From how the building jutted out from the rock, the halls must have extended further into the mountain. There was no clear entrance, and yet Yahiko and Konan had both already disappeared somewhere nearby.

"Mei-sensei, how should we get in?" Naruto asked as they stood on top of the cliff, overlooking the roof.

"I'd rather stay quiet if possible, in case there are more enemy shinobi inside." Mei knew that the ANBU had retreated for a reason, and that they could very well be fetching more men. "Let's try and find an entrance."

Mei leaped down from her perch and onto the roof. Before she touched the ground, Mei quickly noticed a foreign chakra was surrounding the building.

"Mei!" She heard Naruto shout from above, as he must have picked up on the same feeling.

Thinking fast, Mei went through a few hand seals and pushed chakra up through her mouth from the stomach.

_**Suiton: Mizurappa**_

A powerful stream of water shot out from Mei, hitting the roof with great force. Increasing the strength of the jutsu, Mei used the water to counteract her fall and push her back toward Naruto. Even with the use of her technique, whatever trap that had been set on the building did not go off.

Mei angled her head to look behind her and saw how close she was to the cliff again. Gathering chakra in the soles of her feet, she latched onto the side of the cliff and released the water technique. She wiped a bit of sweat from her brow, as the amount of force she put into the technique had been unexpected.

"Seems as though someone does not want us to get in," Mei said, with a bit of a giggle. Her luck held, somehow.

From her place on the cliff, Mei leisurely made her way back to the edge to rejoin Naruto. His eyes were focused on the roof in what she could only assume was an attempt to analyze the enemy technique.

"Allow me," he said, after a moment.

Naruto reached into his equipment pouch and pulled out a small scroll. The parchment was stained yellow with age, and had a red highlight around the edges. With practiced speed, Naruto unfurled the scroll and revealed there were already some type of seals written on the paper.

After a set of particular hand seals, Naruto slammed both hands onto the scroll. From a large, empty circle on the paper arose a visible blue chakra that seemed to be controlled by Naruto's will. The snake-shaped substance launched down at the roof and quickly latched onto whatever residual chakra remained from the enemy's technique.

Mei watched in silence as her student forcefully pulled the enemy's chakra into the sealing scroll. After a few minutes of perspiring work, Naruto heaved one final sigh of victory as the energy fully receded into the paper. The symbol for 'sealed' appeared within the absorption circle, and Naruto carefully wrapped up and pocketed the now occupied parchment.

"Nicely done, Naruto!" Mei could not help but praise his ability; the Uzumaki truly were talented with sealing techniques.

It seemed his mother was a great teacher as well.

Together, Mei and Naruto leaped down onto the solid roof and started to look for a way inside. There was no sign of damage from battle or natural causes; somehow, the Akatsuki had found their own silent way inside, bypassing the exterior traps.

"Mei-sensei!" Naruto shouted from the opposite side of the roof, calling the woman from her own exploration.

"What is it, Naruto-kun?" She followed his pointer finger and noticed there was indeed a set of windows on the far side of the castle.

They missed them based on their approach from the opposite side of the building. Still, the windows looked like they were untouched. Did the other two use a technique of some kind to enter undetected?

No matter, they had their own way in. Now, it was time to capitalize on the fact their enemies believed themselves safe behind their stone walls and traps. They would never expect a tenacious pair of shinobi to have followed them.

Mei and Naruto attached themselves to the side of the wall with chakra and peered into the windows. The inside was very dark, and though they could recognize faint light further inside the building, the room in front of them only found illumination from the graying skies outside.

With a downpour imminent and their enemies nowhere to be found, Mei started to think they should take their chances and enter. Then, she noticed two figures standing off to the side in the room. What they were doing, she could not say, but the scant light that shined into the room picked up a hint of orange from their direction.

_Yahiko?_

Her mind made up, Mei signaled for Naruto to enter through the window. As one, they carefully pulled the decrepit framework out to make room for themselves. When the panes offered a loud creak in response to their fumbling, the Kiri shinobi ceased their attempt at discretion and leaped into the room ready to fight.

The two figures, however, did not flinch from their sudden entrance. Together, they remained staring in one direction, opposite the new arrivals so as to see only their backs.

Perturbed, Mei grew concerned with the silence following their entry and steadily approached the two figures. There was always the chance for a trap, but there was something bothering her.

* * *

><p>Naruto, a few paces behind, began to make out some of the room's layout and realized they were in a study of some kind. Book shelves lined the walls, and a finely aged oaken dining table sat directly in the middle of the hall. He approached it to find many scrolls and books left open and scattered about on its surface, and a single lamp that had run of fuel.<p>

While Mei continued to observe the motionless figures, Naruto decided a lit room would be far more suitable than a darkened one. With some amount of restraint, Naruto built a small stream of fire from his mouth to reinvigorate the lamp's oil dregs into creating light. The black tar offered a brilliant explosion of light before it simmered down to the strength of a wispy candle, offering the room a somewhat lighter, warmer tone.

Now illuminated, Naruto immediately recognized the Akatsuki members from their uniform and hair. They were obstructing whatever had caught their attention at the opposite end of the room, but he noticed Mei too had stopped her approach and was staring in the same direction. Whatever it was must not have been anything good.

He rounded the table to join Mei. Despite his teacher somewhat lowering her guard, Naruto remained on watch. The Akatsuki had been at their throats less than an hour ago—there was no telling what tricks they may have had up their sleeves.

When Naruto finally locked eyes with the same corner of the room the others had, he realized what had brought Yahiko and Konan to their wit's end.

A rusted cage, fit to hold no more than a few men, had no less than six bodies stuffed on top of one another inside the bars. Though badly mangled, Naruto recognized they shared similar uniforms to the Akatsuki. Their missing comrades, it seemed, had been found.

"Oh my..." Mei could only stare at the disgusting spectacle before them.

She could only take small solace in the fact that they were not her own comrades, as she too would not be able to hold herself together after seeing their bodies disgraced in such a manner.

"We were too late," Yahiko said after a long while, his tone indicating defeat.

"Our suspicions...were correct then." Konan added, her body slightly shaking.

Yahiko, as the leader, was the first to approach the cage to get a better look at the now rotting corpses. They were a mess, with recognizable lacerations and other puncture marks indicating heavy torture prior to death. After rounding the cage a few times, the young revolutionary let his shoulders sag.

"At the very least, he is not among them."

Mei and Naruto both narrowed their eyes, as they found it odd Yahiko was relieved after confirming the deaths of his comrades. Who could be so special for him to consider the mission not a total loss?

"You mean Obi-" Konan started to say something, only for Yahiko to interrupt her.

"Yes, look for yourself."

Together, the Ame ninja looked over their fallen comrades and purposely ignored the Kiri shinobi present. Regardless, that offered Mei and Naruto a chance to regroup themselves to figure out this turn of events. When they had expected to find a den of Konoha shinobi, instead they found a bunch of bodies and a new mystery.

What terrible experiments had occurred in the land they were sworn to protect?

"Who would do such a thing..." Naruto could not help but ask out loud.

To not only torture and murder them, but to leave their bodies in such a disrespectful place was too much.

"We were not exiled by Hanzo the Salamander's strength alone," Konan said in response, surprising Naruto as he thought she was not interested in their presence. "To hold onto his throne of power, that man allied with the Leaf, with Konoha, and the Yondaime Hokage."

She spit the title of the Leaf Village's leader out like it was poison.

"A monster that takes a man's shape: he freely experiments on both his captives and the shinobi of his village," Yahiko filled in the rest, as Konan was no longer in the mood to talk. Both of them seemed scarred from their own encounters. "The experiments he subjects the captives to are inhumane, and all of them are conducted for his own selfish desires."

_Yondaime Hokage, Orochimaru. Yagura warned me about him._

Naruto remembered the short introduction offered before. He knew not what the man looked like or even acted like, but seeing these terrible results, he could only guess that they were a monster incarnate. Who else would have the lack of a heart to do something so terrible to human beings?

"What were your men doing here in the first place?" Mei asked.

If it were true that this facility was run by the Yondaime Hokage, that would mean Akatsuki had in some way attracted his attention enough to choose to capture them. And if they were tortured, that could only mean Akatsuki's real purpose for being in the Land of the Sea was more important than they let on.

"They were to meet with one of my trusted associates that has lived in the Land of Water for quite some time." Yahiko explained with a shrug, as if he did not see the point of her question.

They were trying to hide their true purpose, just like before.

"Apparently, that associate had met someone who was a potential candidate to join the Akatsuki. I desired to meet with this person, and so the rest of our group went on ahead to facilitate my wishes."

With that, their eyes returned to the cage. Konan had easily broken the latch open and had begun to lay their bodies out onto the floor, one by one. Paper began to encase them, as their bodies were made ready to be transported away from that horrid place.

"A person to join your organization? I assumed you all were from Amegakure..." Mei tried to dig deeper by asking yet another question concerning this candidate.

Naruto remained silent, as he knew his teacher had the authority to act whereas he did not. Besides, she seemed much more cut out for diplomacy than him.

"We started in Amegakure, but I wish to expand our reach around the world. To do that, recruiting from other nations only makes sense, wouldn't you say? For the world to find peace, we have to unite somehow."

Yahiko continued to offer them his idealistic words, but that confirmed this candidate was not from their homeland. Naruto wondered if they were trying to recruit missing-nin, or perhaps they were not shinobi at all? It could even be a traitor from the village, but Naruto did not want to think of that possibility.

"Perhaps we have heard of this person? Do you have any details?" Mei decided it was best to be direct, as they neared the end of the conversation.

"I only know that they are famed for their medical ninjutsu, and that they would be a worthy addition to my group. The faith I have in my subordinates is absolute," Yahiko said, his words kept his perspective rather cryptic on the matter.

"Yahiko, the preparations are complete."

Konan stood by him, now with six floating shells of paper that held the bodies of their fallen. Their time in that place was up, as was Mei and Naruto's.

"Then, we shall take our leave." Yahiko turned toward the door, his cloak shifting with his feet. He turned to address Mei and Naruto. "We will take care of our dead, and then we will leave. You have my word, Kiri shinobi. I hope you will leave us, for now."

Mei offered nothing but a curt nod, which he accepted all the same. Together, the Akatsuki members disappeared into the darkened hallways that led deeper into the facility.

Naruto and Mei remained quiet for a moment longer, before they too decided that they were satisfied.

"We should leave as well, Naruto. I have a report I must send to the Mizukage concerning these events at once."

"Understood."

They quickly retraced their steps and exited through the window into what was now a steady rain. This turn of events had severely dampened their mood from the start of their trip. With the less than satisfying results with Akatsuki, Konoha's presence, and the sudden downpour that was sure to last; their leisurely trip and B ranked mission was sure to only get worse.

Naruto's mind was not so focused on the recent issues, but more so on the conversation they had shared with Akatsuki before parting. In particular, he wanted to know more about this associate of theirs and the person they were looking for. Famous for medical ninjutsu? Naruto knew his history well enough, but there were plenty of medical shinobi that had made names for themselves, but very few were local to the Land of the Sea.

_Mei is more knowledgeable than me. Maybe she knows?_

If his sensei knew more than he, her stern face refused to reveal such details. But, she seemed very eager to send that report off on their way back to town, and so Naruto could only hope she had some kind of plan.

* * *

><p>Naruto leaned against the open door frame and watched the rain pour down around the inn. There was something beautiful about watching a lush garden be pelted with water. He almost felt like he could fall asleep right there with the cold of outside mixing well with the heat from within.<p>

It had been a few days since Mei and Naruto had their fateful encounter with Akatsuki and discovered the Konoha hideout. After she sent her message off to the village, Mei had told him they would be taking a rest for as long as the rain kept up. He thought that given the normal weather of the isles, the rain would let up within a day or so, but as he kept up his constant watch he quickly realized this storm was going nowhere quickly.

So, he had settled to enjoy what little about the situation he could.

_Guess I'm not going to see that swimsuit after all..._

Naruto's frown deepened as his fantasies were set to remain just that—fantasies. Speaking of his sensei, she had been spending her time out and about of all things. She passed it off as exploring the island for fun things to do, but Naruto had a sneaking suspicion she had more serious matters to attend to.

He would have liked to go with her in that case, but she refused him at every turn. If the time ever came to ask her out on a date, at least he would be a seasoned veteran in experiencing rejection.

"Naruto!" A familiar voice echoed from across the room.

_Speak of the devil._

Naruto turned to see Mei was at the opposite doorway. When he met her eyes, he immediately noted a sense of urgency behind the stare. As expected, she was soaking wet from being outside, though it did not seem to faze her all that much. She looked no worse for wear, but Naruto could tell she was back with some kind of important news.

"I've found them. The ones Akatsuki are looking for." Hearing those words, Naruto stumbled to get onto his feet.

"What? Who?"

So that was why Mei was so determined to check out the island; she was trying to find that candidate person. He momentarily wondered why she had not asked him to help. Were they really so dangerous?

Naruto shook such thoughts from his mind; he had to trust Mei's judgment. What mattered was that they had the advantage over Akatsuki, and they might be able to make use of this person for the village's sake.

He hurried to get dressed in his uniform as Mei waited.

* * *

><p>As Naruto scrambled for his jacket and sandals, Mei thought over the results of her successful intelligence gathering. Her eyes narrowed as she remembered the time when Yahiko gave her the original hint, back in the hideout.<p>

_A famous medical ninjutsu user. Very rare, at least for the Land of Water. Just one person could come to mind immediately._

And that person was not of Kirigakure origins. Rather, they were associated with Konoha, a place that was quickly becoming their adversary. She had to be sure though, so she started to check the likely places that the fabled medical ninja frequented in her travels. Unfortunately, they were usually rather seedy spots and Mei had to be cautious lest she got involved in the wrong situation.

The investigation paid off, however, when she found this person in one of the nearby village's gambling dens. Mei was sure she was not seen, and the woman seemed rather focused on the game at hand, so as soon as the identity was confirmed, she left.

"This person is a famous shinobi from Konoha, the Leaf village. She made a name for herself in the Second Shinobi World War as the person to revolutionize the role of a medical shinobi," Mei said to Naruto, as he had almost finished his preparations.

"Also, they are just as well known as being the sole inheritor of Mokuton, from the Shodai Hokage."

Naruto stopped in putting his sandal on when he heard her mention that specific kekkei genkai. Despite not being from the Land of Fire, he must have known very well the implications such a technique had.

"Mokuton? You don't mean-"

"The one and the same, Wood Release. It amazes me how she was allowed free rein to leave her village so easily, but Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin is well known for being a bit spoiled."

Mei, just as many other kunoichi had during their training, looked up to Tsunade as a role model. She never had any aspirations of becoming a medical shinobi, but her strength and beauty was something any girl would want to have. That was why this information and her close proximity meant more to Mei than even she thought it would.

How to handle a situation like this was difficult, at best. An international incident was unavoidable, but the Mizukage's orders were absolute.

The Mokuton would be taken for Kirigakure's sake, no matter what.

"I'm ready to go." Naruto announced the completion of his preparations.

Mei looked him over and agreed that he was ready to leave the inn, but to fight Tsunade? That was a question Mei was not sure even she could answer.

Luckily, they were to have some help in that regard.

"Come on, they may already be alerted to our presence."

Mei led Naruto out of the room and quickly into the rain. They had some ground to travel before they arrived at the inn, and she could only pray they made it in time—all of them.

Otherwise, things were sure to get ugly and fast.

* * *

><p>"Seems we take another loss. Ah well, to home we go! Yosu~"<p>

"Tsunade-sama, please take this seriously!"

Stumbling out of the gambling den with a face redder than a perfect tomato, the famous Sannin and Legendary Sucker Tsunade led her apprentice Shizune and their pet pig Tonton back to the inn. Despite her sorrowful defeat at cards, with the loss of her share in a mere twenty hands, the beautiful blonde still managed to hold her head high—it must have been thanks to the sake.

Shizune, on the other hand, was perfectly sober and aware of the consequences with their defeat. Her entire body ached with the familiar exhaustion she had acquired from watching her master gamble.

"That was the last of our money..." The young woman groaned out loud.

Tsunade did not seem to hear her. The Sannin hummed happily to herself as she haphazardly navigated the streets she had once been very familiar with.

"Ah, now...which way was it...here? Or there?" Tsunade stopped in her tracks at an intersection, looking every direction in an attempt to decipher her surroundings.

Shizune had not fully recovered as she struggled to maintain her hold on Tonton, let alone remember which way they came from. She was of no help to the drunk woman in front of her.

"Whatever, I'll just-" Tsunade finally decided to just start walking again, when she saw something hop out in front of her.

The instant she saw the red and green toad, her hazel eyes lit up with some kind of nostalgia. Through her alcohol-ridden gaze, Tsunade managed to remember something from seeing the creature. Her eyes widened a bit in surprise as it chirped a few times before again hopping on its own way.

"Tsunade-sama..." Shizune practically moaned her master's name in distress. "Have you figured out which-"

"Shizune!"

"Eek!" Her subordinate shrieked in surprise.

The sharpness in Tsunade's tone quickly woke Shizune and Tonton up from their depression. Both of them quickly sensed the fact that their leader, who had been in a different world just a moment ago, had at least partially sobered herself up. They had unfortunately missed the toad, and would not have understood its significance anyway.

Only a fellow Sannin would recognize such a blatant signal.

"We're leaving this town, right away!" Tsunade said, emphasizing the timing part.

"But, why?" Shizune stuttered in her attempt to request an explanation.

She had never seen her master so eager to leave a town after a single gambling night. They had been in the Land of the Sea for quite some time, at least two weeks now. Together, they had traveled the four islands that made up the small fiefdom without running into any trouble.

Shizune knew that if Tsunade said to leave, there could only mean terrible things were ahead.

"No time to explain. Just follow me."

Tsunade started down the same back alley the toad had chosen to follow. The amphibian was long gone, but she could recognize its trail from anywhere.

With great care, she began to extend her chakra out in an attempt to sense for others around her. For a short while, she could feel nothing but the rhythmic pulse of her own heart, and her companions. But, just as she had been warned, multiple signatures were fast approaching the gambling den they had occupied not but ten minutes ago.

_Jiraiya...what is going on here?_

Tsunade bit her lip as she proceeded down the dark and damp paths out of the town limits. She would have a word with her old teammate as soon as things began to quiet down. If he was around, this trouble must have been started by him.

Why else would someone bother a simple traveler like her?

* * *

><p>Mei and Naruto were moving at great speed to make the rendezvous in time. If they were too slow, Tsunade was sure to slip through the net. Too fast, and they might tip off the Sannin and give her a chance to escape.<p>

With her eyes, Mei scanned the area they were approaching. Mostly flatland with just a simple dirt road and scattered trees—just as she had planned.

_There!_

Mei's eyes widened a bit when she felt a powerful chakra presence approaching them. She did not need to be a sensor to recognize the strength or the identity of the user.

Their quarry had arrived.

"...!"

Mei skidded to a stop on the road with Naruto not far behind. In front of her, two young women matching their target descriptions similarly paused in their flight from the village behind them.

Both sides began to size the other up as a confrontation seemed inevitable. To the jonin, it was very clear that this was Tsunade of Konoha, and the other one must have been her apprentice Shizune. In the younger woman's arms was a pig, dressed up in an outfit of some kind.

Mei's eyes narrowed as she observed Tsunade closely. Though she had heard the rumors, she had not considered the transformation jutsu to be real. For a woman that was supposedly in her fifties, the Sannin looked very young. Well, if she was sensitive about her appearance, Mei could sympathize somewhat.

"Why are you blocking our way, Kiri-nin?!" Tsunade shouted the challenge with a harsh voice. "I am Tsunade Senju, of Konohagakure! If you attack me, you attack my village."

Mei adopted a scowl as she heard the woman's words.

_Using your village as a shield, Tsunade-sama? How unsightly for a woman of your stature._

"We know who you are, Tsunade of the Sannin," Mei responded, rather tersely. "And Konoha has not been kind to our village as of recent times, so you'll have to excuse me if I don't pay you the proper respect."

Across from her, Tsunade's eyes narrowed dangerously. There was tension brewing in the air, and the talking seemed to be making things worse.

"What's your purpose here? To capture me? Ha!" Tsunade made the sound of a laugh, though she was clearly feeling quite the opposite. Her body was tense, like a tiger ready to pounce. "As if I'd go quietly."

In response, Mei examined the two Konoha shinobi to see if her bragging meant anything. Both Tsunade and her apprentice seemed rested, though how well she could not say, considering she found them already well into playing at the gambling den. Naruto and she would be dealing with two experienced medical shinobi, with no equal counterpart on their side, which would put them at a disadvantage.

And, as Mei remembered, that mark on Tsunade's forehead was for more than just show. What secrets she had apart from Mokuton, the Terumī had not but the faintest idea.

The scales were stacked against her for now, but Mei held out hope their reinforcements would arrive soon. If they could just buy a little more time.

"Trying to keep us waiting while your friends come along? I don't think so!" As if she were telepathic, Tsunade threw off her green haori and started to sprint forward straight at Mei and Naruto.

"Watch out!" Naruto shouted as he readied a kunai and ran forward to meet Tsunade.

"No, Naruto!" Mei called for him to return, to no avail.

He had no idea about her superhuman strength! Going blow to blow with Tsunade would be a death wish. Mei began to go through hand seals, praying she was not too late.

* * *

><p>"It's over, brat!" Tsunade lurched her arm back as she closed with Naruto.<p>

_This kid from the Mist has no idea what he's gotten himself into!_

Before she could connect, a thick mist descended over the battlefield and obscured her view. Tsunade quickly leaped back to relative safety near Shizune, but she realized the mist was still growing. Was she too slow?

"Sorry we're late." A gruff voice announced from within the mist.

Tsunade squinted in an attempt to see through the obscuring cover, but she could not even make out shadows. This voice was new, which meant her fears were realized. Had she been so focused on her first strike that she had missed their arrival?

Perhaps for her benefit, the mist lightened up and again revealed her opponents. Unfortunately, their numbers had increased drastically since the last time, and their chakra strength was palpable. Tsunade even recognized a few from the previous war, much to her chagrin.

In front of her were the original two Kiri shinobi, but now with the Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of the Mist united and standing with them. With nine opponents, Tsunade's advantage had quickly dropped to zero. Even if she unleashed her seal, they would surely overwhelm her and Shizune in a short manner of time.

"Tsunade-sama, that's-" Shizune, despite herself, was shaken with noticeable fear.

So dangerous was one of this infamous group of shinobi, that to have all seven against you was enough to make anyone squirm—even a Kage. Tsunade was no different, she only knew how to manage her fears better. War had its own way of changing a person, for better or worse.

"I know, Shizune."

Tsunade knew exactly what the odds were now, and she did not like them. If she was going to start betting to win, she would have to start with the biggest chip on the field: her own life!

* * *

><p>"Mangetsu, do it!" Zabuza gave the order to the Hōzuki, who immediately pulled out a large weapon scroll.<p>

As Master of the Armory, Mangetsu held onto the weapons of the group outside of combat. Now that things had already kicked off with Tsunade, they had no reason to hold back.

Unfurling the large sealing parchment, Mangetsu fed chakra into each of the sealing circles and released the weapons. With practiced timing, each swordsman caught his and her weapon as soon as they were brought out. Mangetsu unsummoned the scroll and prepared his own blade, Himarekarei, with either hilt held tightly by one of his hands.

Zabuza took the lead in the formation and began leaking a large amount of chakra. So powerful was his aura that Tsunade and everyone else could see the dark, purple chakra take the form of a demon—aptly fitting his nickname as Demon of the Mist village.

"Someone's excited." Kisame smirked as Samehada growled underneath the bandage wrappings. "Looks like you and I have something in common, Zabuza-san. Samehada is starving for something good."

"We'll see who gets her first. I would love to hear some explosions right about now," Jinpachi said, wielding his blastsword Shibuki.

Kushimaru silently twirled his needle blade, Nuibari. He was clearly ready for a proper fight.

"Be careful not to break them. We need to take them alive, remember?" Jinin reminded, hefting his hammer over his shoulder.

"As long as they don't run, I'll enjoy myself." Ameyuri began to get excited, with lightning surging through the Kiba fang blades.

"Heh...shut up, the lot of you." Zabuza chided the rest from his place in the front; the executioner's blade hung loosely over his shoulder.

There was a tense moment of silence that took over the field as both sides settled down. While Kiri savored the moment of their impending victory, Konoha struggled to figure out a way to survive.

Then, all hell broke loose.

"Kisame, let's go!" Shouted Zabuza as he took off in a daring sprint straight for Tsunade.

"Sounds good to me!" Responded the shark man, hefting Samehada over his shoulder as he too began to run.

The other five ran forward to join them, but began to fan out around the sides, so as to encircle and cut off any chance of escape. Zabuza and Kisame were considered the strongest of the group, in the sense they were the toughest to take down, so they always acted as the initial battering ram. The others were confident they would get their chance soon enough.

Mei and Naruto hesitated to join in, as the sheer power of their seven allies was enough to make them pause. If they were to get involved, they could very well get caught in the crossfire.

* * *

><p>As soon as the enemy began running toward them, Tsunade activated the seal on her forehead. It was a regretful occasion that she had to use that power, but for situations like these it was her only option. Developed first by her grandmother, Naomi Senju, Tsunade had perfected the technique for her own use.<p>

Reserved for use in the worst situations, the Yang seal on her forehead, in the shape of a yellow sun, gathered a special type of chakra—one that would help her use her grandfather's legacy, the Mokuton. With its release, the life-giving Yang chakra would increase her synchronization with her grandfather's genes, and it would offer Tsunade temporary use of his famed abilities.

The only downside was, like any powerful technique, there was a waiting period.

_Come on, make it in time!_

Realizing the danger, Shizune threw Tonton back behind them to get her away from danger. Then, she too began to go through hand signs and gather chakra. Despite the great danger they were in, she could not let Tsunade face the enemies alone.

As the Yang seal activated, dark lines began to spread across Tsunade's forehead and to the rest of her body. The yellow sun shined brightly as the chakra was released into her body, and in turn her skin radiated with light. She could sense the effect coming over her body, the strain on her chakra as Hashirama's cells attempted to overpower her will.

_Lend me your strength, Grandfather!_

"Too late!"

"I'll have your legs, Tsunade-san!"

Zabuza and Kisame were on her in moments, their blades raised high above their heads. Too fast for Shizune to catch and too fast for Tsunade to use her technique; the weapons came down upon Tsunade's head.

From beneath Tsunade's feet, a familiar toad leaped up into the air to meet the swordsmen. In its stead, a puff of smoke separated both sides.

* * *

><p>Mei had noticed something other than the pig had arrived near Tsunade's feet, but she had not predicted it to be a summon of any kind. There were no evident signs the Sannin wove hand seals or produced the blood necessary for such a technique, and yet the toad appeared to have come to her aid.<p>

The smoke screen that enveloped Tsunade was partially broken by Zabuza and Kisame as they skidded back to a safe distance. Wise enough to follow their example, the other swordsmen held back and waited for the smoke to clear.

"Not so fast there, Kiri shinobi!" From inside the smoke, a prideful voice announced their presence. "This confrontation stops right here, as the gallant and handsome Jiraiya of the Sannin has come to rescue the vulnerable, yet voluptuous Slug Princess Tsunade, with his teammate-"

"That's enough, Jiraiya." Another voice, this one hoarse and audacious. "I'm sure they can see who they are dealing with just fine."

"You two..." Tsunade's voice was nothing but a whisper in comparison, but Mei recognized both her surprise and familiarity with the two newcomers.

And if the man who announced their arrival was correct, they were dealing with more of the Sannin. That thought alone was chilling to Mei, despite the presence of the swordsmen. Not only were they some of the most recognized shinobi in the world, but one was the Yondaime Hokage and the other, spymaster for Konoha.

Nothing good could come of confronting them now, especially together. For them to come out, they might as well call it war now.

The smoke had finally cleared and confirmed Mei's worst fears. There, standing in front of the stunned Tsunade, was Jiraiya of the Sannin and Orochimaru, the Yondaime Hokage himself. They wore a gray piece of battle armor over their flak jackets, with dark clothing underneath. It seemed as if they had been fully prepared for this battle to happen, as if it were unavoidable. Mei wondered just how long they had been in the Land of the Sea, waiting.

Orochimaru's sickly white skin belied his excitement for the battle, as he looked over the Kiri contingent with a deadly smirk. She met his eyes for a moment and felt herself become a bit shaken with fear. Fresh memories of the Ame ninjas' fate reminded her just what kind of a monster this man was, and what would happen should they fail.

Given the break in combat, Jiraiya looked away from Mei and the others and turned to Tsunade. They shared a moment of happy reunion, with words exchanged that she could not hear from the distance.

"Shinobi of the Hidden Mist..." Orochimaru directly called out to them, forcing them all to stiffen. "Perhaps our presence has not made it clear yet, but Konoha will _not_ hand over Tsunade."

"You have two choices: Withdraw, or die." Given Orochimaru's smile as he delivered the terms, he very much wanted them to take the latter option.

Given the orders from the Mizukage, withdrawal was not an option on the table. Mei doubted Orochimaru would let them leave without hassle, either. Besides, the Land of the Sea was their territory to defend, and the only way it would end would be with one side going down for the count.

"Hehehe..." A low chuckle came from Zabuza of all people. Even Kisame offered some concern for his sword comrade.

"Why the hell would we retreat?" Zabuza formed the unique hand seal for his mist technique. "We're the ones with the advantage!"

"**Kirigakure no jutsu!**"

Again, the deep mist settled over the battlefield as both sides lost sight of each other. Zabuza and the others disappeared into the mist, headed in the direction of Konoha.

Mei knew it was too dangerous to go forward, especially considering her strength remained as a long range fighter. She would have to hold back Naruto as well, since he would only get in the swordsmen's way; at his level, he could not stand against one Sannin, let alone three.

"Naruto, fall back!"

Mei jumped back to gain some distance between her and what was soon to become a battleground.

"Wha..." Naruto hesitated, but decided to follow her orders a moment later. "Alright!"

He reunited with her at the edge of the mist, just as the faint sound of fighting began to erupt across the field. A few moments later, and a resounding explosion and two puffs of smoke towered over the area. Mei and Naruto both were forced to look up and realized that the Sannin had used the summoning technique.

Now, Jiraiya stood atop a large red toad with a pipe in its mouth and a blade on its back. With him on the head was Tsunade, Shizune, and Tonton. To his left, Orochimaru appeared with three large snakes Mei identified as Boa constrictors, each with a scarf with the symbol for 'Fire' adorned across it.

Beneath them, the seven swordsmen were in a similar predicament as they were forced to back up to see their opponents. Still, their morale seemed to remain strong as they readied themselves to fight.

"Kiri shinobi!" Jiraiya began to speak with them. "We have the advantage here, retreat now! There does not have to be bloodshed between us!"

"You forget, this land is our territory to protect," Mangetsu said, his broadsword glowing with released chakra.

"Hehe, these are just a few more targets to cut open." Kisame was grinning in anticipation.

Orochimaru went through more hand seals. He had already made his point very clear that he was willing to fight Kiri, as opposed to his partner's request for diplomacy.

"I can tell you're a strong bunch. How about I bring you back with me? My snakes wouldn't mind having a snack for the trip home."

From the mouths of the towering serpents, dozens of man-sized snakes began to fall out onto the ground. They appeared to be a modified breed of anaconda, and they were incredibly fast. The snakes began to make their way toward the Kiri shinobi, offering them no respite.

"Kisame, Mangetsu. With me!" Zabuza leaped forward and, with one swing of the executioner blade, cut the anaconda in two. "The rest of you, take care of the frog!"

"I'm a toad, dammit!"

The large summon wailed attempting to stomp Zabuza, missing him by a hairsbreadth as the man leaped out of reach.

Mei had no time consider the rest of the battle as there were still plenty of snakes to deal with. She began to go through hand seals and built up chakra in her stomach. At least a dozen were headed for her and Naruto, so she had to prepare a considerable amount to get them all.

"**Yōton: Yōkai no Jutsu!**"

A flood of the corrosive heated syrup launched from Mei's stomach, covering the battlefield in front of her. The first of the snakes attempted to cross, but were forced back as she continued to release more and more of the lava. Soon enough, their resistant scales gave way and they began to burn.

For good measure, Mei launched a second wave up over the first field and brought it down over the snakes. The attack sealed the fates of all the ones that fell for her trap, but some had chosen to go around the field and were now at her sides.

"Eat this!" Naruto leaped over Mei's head with kunai in each hand.

As the anaconda began to spread their mouths wide open to devour the shinobi, Naruto threw his kunai into their mouths. Lodged deep inside their bodes, the snakes were blown apart as the explosive tags attached activated.

Before Mei could even congratulate Naruto, she felt the ground underneath them shift. She knew that Naruto was still falling to the ground, and would not dodge in time. With all her strength she leaped into the air and pushed Naruto with her body away from the spot she had been standing.

Not a moment after, the remaining two anaconda emerged from burrows underneath and quickly chased after the two shinobi. Their speed was astonishing for creatures of their size, and Mei knew she did not have enough time for hand seals.

"Hold on!" Mei heard Naruto say as his arms found their way underneath her back and legs.

"What are you-" Mei paused when she felt Naruto build up a considerable amount of chakra in his extremities.

"I may not be as fast as my dad, but..." As Naruto's feet touched the ground, the two of them accelerated away from the snakes. "I'm not too slow, either!"

The world around Mei became a blur, and her mind raced to analyze the technique.

_Hiraishin? No, impossible. It must be the Body Flicker..._

Despite lacking the instantaneous speed of his father's space-time technique, Naruto's apparent mastery of the Shunshin technique made increased his potential for speed more than Mei could have ever guessed. Not even she could handle that level of speed.

When Naruto finally set her down, there was no sign of the snakes that had been so close to finishing them. The large summons were visible off in the distance, but still with a great amount of distance put between them in the span of a few seconds.

"That was amazing, Naruto-kun!" Mei said with confidence.

Naruto offered her a smile as they had a moment to catch their breath. Even though the battle just started, the adrenaline surrounding the high stakes game was getting to them. Still, they could not stay out of the way with their comrades doing all the work.

"Come on Naruto, we need to get back to the fight!" Mei said.

Mei started to run forward, with Naruto close behind.

"Who are we going after?!" He shouted.

Mei's eyes were dead set on the toad, and the people standing on its head. She wanted Tsunade.

* * *

><p>Zabuza leaped to the side as one of the snake summons slammed headfirst into the ground in an attempt to eat him. Taking advantage of its weakness, he leaped atop its head and forced his sword into the top of its mouth. Then, with all of his might and a powerful roar, he pulled the blade through the snakes head, forcing the skin to fold over in two as the head fell apart.<p>

Mangetsu and Kisame had remained closer to one another in the fight against Orochimaru and the remaining two Boas. One of the snake heads headed for Kisame, despite his focus on defeating the one with Orochimaru on top.

Mangetsu gathered chakra around his broadsword and forced it to take the shape of an axe. With a vertical swing downward, he brought the attack down on the snake's neck, decapitating it and forcing the body to unsummon.

"Thanks, water boy!" Kisame used chakra to attach himself to the snake's body, dashing up toward the head.

Zabuza came from the opposite side and similarly began to run up the snake for Orochimaru.

Rather than focus on them, however, Orochimaru had been paying close attention to the fight with his anaconda that had just wrapped up. He was very interested in the woman with the ability to use lava as a technique. That was something he would not mind possessing for himself—and what Orochimaru owned, Konoha owned.

_I think I'll play with her next._

Forcing his body to loosen into that of a snake, he leaped down from his summon's head and went straight for his prize. Zabuza and Kisame arrived at the top of the snake and quickly noticed Orochimaru's escape.

"Mangetsu!" Zabuza exclaimed, ordering him to intercept the snake.

"I'll go too!" Kisame leaped from the head down toward the escaping Hokage. He turned to look at the bewildered Zabuza and pointed at his blade. "Your blade is cut out for finishing this thing off, ya know? Hehe."

Annoyed that he was the one to be left behind, Zabuza began to build up chakra again. Despite the snake's desperate attempt to shake him off, the Demon did not even shift.

"ROAGHH!" With another roar, Zabuza pierced the snake's head and, with one swift pull lifted his blade from the broken body.

Not one to be outdone, he took off in pursuit of his comrades. He took a glance at the battle occurring with the others, and knew that with a bit more time, they would have victory as well.

* * *

><p>"<strong>Katon: Endan!<strong>"

Jiraiya released a powerful fireball from his mouth, directly at Jinin and Ameyuri. Rather than dodge, however, Ameyuri pressed her blades toward the sky and forced the storms to generate electricity. With that power, she built up a charge and released a powerful bolt of lightning to meet the fire.

"**Raiton: Raiga!**"

The force of the two attacks canceled one another out in an impressive explosion. It hit hard enough to make Gamabunta flinch from the attack that had sizzled past his head.

Jinin took that opportunity to charge Jiraiya, both blade and hammer ready. The strength behind his attacks were obviously too heavy to be taken directly, and Jiraiya weaved in and out of the attacks. With a few hand seals, he forced his hair to elongate and used it as a whip to fight back.

Just from this game of cat and mouse though, Jiraiya was starting to breathe heavy.

_Damn, not sure how much longer I can keep these two off our backs._

"Tsunade-hime!"

He risked a glance behind himself, where Tsunade fought against Jinpachi and Kushimaru alone. Shizune had quickly been sidelined by a near total explosion by the Shibuki blade. Only Tsunade's Mokuton had been able to pull her away in time, but everyone had their limit.

Kushimaru ran forward with his Nuibari and the next bit of wire in his hand. A few clones of Tsunade were running about, but he had his sights for the real one. His partner in the Heartless Pair offered a perfect distraction by releasing Shibuki's explosion into the ground below them, causing the earth to rip itself apart and send everyone off balance.

Before the attack hit, however, Kushimaru leaped into the air carefully spun himself closer to his target. As soon as he planted his feet, his blade sunk into her back. Beneath his mask, the ANBU was about to count another kill when he realized there was too much resistance for his blade to flow completely through her.

_No...impossible!_

He quickly recognized the hardiness of wood as Tsunade's image fell away into a wooden statue. To his left, another Tsunade went through hand signs and the seal on her forehead began to glow again. The wooden clone expanded quickly, too quickly for Kushimaru to fall back in time, and he was hit in arm by a wooden spear.

"**Mokuton: Daijurin no Jutsu."**

"Damn!"

Before it go clean through the arm, Jinpachi brought his blade down on top of the rogue branch and blew it up. This offered Kushimaru the chance to fall back.

"Always need me to save you?"

"Shut the hell up!"

The two offered each other their usual colorful commentary as Tsunade took a moment to rest. They were relentless, even with that wound the enemy was sure to keep up the attack. Their reckless abandonment of their own bodies safety went to show their desire for blood lust, and she was not sure she wanted to see just how far they were willing to go.

Jiraiya leaped back and joined Tsunade for a moment to regroup.

Similarly, the four swordsmen grouped together and began to spread out again.

"I'm sorry Tsunade, but at this rate even if you were to say no, I'd force you to come back with me." Jiraiya panted, warily watching his enemies as they surrounded them again. One eye was half open, an open wound above his brow sending blood dripping down his face.

"There is no point in arguing about that." Tsunade glanced at Shizune, momentarily showing signs of remorse. "We need to retreat. What about Orochimaru?"

Jiraiya could faintly see the battle unfolding in the distance with the Yondaime and the rest of the Kiri squad. He knew Orochimaru could handle himself, otherwise he would have brought his bodyguards. Considering the situation, Jiraiya and Tsunade could not go all out with Shizune wounded, and his pitiful attempt to try and avoid killing anyone was going to fail sooner or later unless they left.

"He'll be fine. You know him: even if I ordered him to, he'd just ignore me." Jiraiya smirked, that was Orochimaru after all.

"Gamabunta! Time to go, buddy!" The toad sage shouted to his summon; Gamabunta took out his now chipped pipe to answer.

"About time!"

With his long tongue, he swept up the Konoha ninja without any trouble and deposited them into his mouth like flies. Before anyone could try and stop him, the toad unsummoned himself, along with the humans inside of him.

* * *

><p>Naruto and Mei found themselves up against Orochimaru in the blink of an eye. One moment they were halfway to the toad, the next a pink tongue wrapped itself around Mei's neck.<p>

_What the!_

"Don't struggle too hard dear, or else I might _break_ your neck." They saw Orochimaru slithering on the ground some distance away, the offending body part coming from his open mouth.

Farther behind him, Zabuza and the others were coming, but they would be too late!

Mei tried to pry his tongue off with all of her strength, but he would not budge. Her vision started to darken, and she knew it would not be long before she was knocked unconscious. Gathering one last breath of air in her mouth, Mei began to turn it into chakra.

_Not enough for the full technique...have to.._

_**Futton: Suidasu **_

Releasing the acidified breath from her mouth, the attack immediately hit. The acidity was rather high, given Mei's lack of concentration under duress, and quickly started to burn through his tongue. Orochimaru's grin quickly turned sour as he forced his tongue back into his mouth.

Mei collapsed to her knees, choking from the lack of air. In an attempt to relieve the pain, she began to massage her jugular.

"That was a neat little trick, but-"

"Gotcha!"

From behind, Zabuza, Kisame, and Mangetsu all brought their swords down upon Orochimaru's already stretched body. The Hokage's face twisted into something that could only be described as pure agony as he seemed to deflate in on himself.

The swordsmen seemed rather satisfied with the attack, but Naruto felt that it had been too easy. Snakes were careful creatures, and they could shed skin to escape their prey. He would not put it past Orochimaru to further embody his chosen summon.

The mouth of the downed Orochimaru began to stretch as something inside began to wriggle about. Zabuza was quick to notice and readied his blade to decapitate the Sannin, only for a white snake to shoot out from the mouth. It was man-sized with a jaw large enough to swallow a man; the black mane on the back of its head made it almost resemble Orochimaru.

With speed not even the swordsmen could react to, it launched up into the air and dove straight down at Mei. Its jaw dislocated, to better fit her inside.

Too wounded to move, Mei could only look up in terror. The dark, wet insides and sharp teeth made her completely freeze, just as a snake's prey were supposed to.

_I have you now!_

Orochimaru had Tsunade, and now he would have this prize from Kirigakure!

In the end, however, Orochimaru underestimated the person who he thought was a simple lackey. Naruto's knee smashed into the side of Orochimaru's jaw, with speed enhanced from a body flicker technique. The bone shattering move sent the white snake flying in the air, where he soared back and hit the ground—hard.

By that point in time, Jiraiya had already withdrawn. The other swordsmen regrouped with Zabuza and the others and proceeded after Orochimaru. Rather than press his luck and try again, the snake had used the pause in combat to burrow underground and escape.

"Mei, are you alright?" Naruto knelt down and looked her over for any other wounds.

Though she was still massaging her neck, everything else looked fine. When she offered a small smile, he knew she would be alright.

"Th-thank you, Naruto..." She coughed from the strain it was to talk, but she had to express her gratitude.

He had saved her from that..._thing_. That was something Mei would never forget. Naruto may have been walking a long road to become a great shinobi, but he was well on his way at a young age.

Together, they remained until the rain finally came to an end.

* * *

><p><em>Ah...this is great!<em>

Naruto was laid out on his back, floating in the calm ocean waters. The bright sunshine forced him to shade his eyes as he finally got to enjoy the beautiful blue sky he had heard so much about. The warm rays made him feel just perfect when combined with the cool water, slowly massaging his back.

Mei was right, it was definitely a good idea to bring trunks.

Thanks to their hard work and the unexpected complications, the Mizukage had given him and Mei leave to stay in the Land of the Sea for a few more days. Perfect timing, with the weather choosing to clear up. He felt a little sorry for Ameyuri and Mangetsu as they were ordered to return immediately with the rest of the swordsmen, but he supposed that was one of the sacrifices you made as one of the elite.

_If this is what it means to be mediocre...well, I don't mind being spoiled for now._

Naruto could not wipe the grin from his face.

"Oi, Naruto! Come back to the shore!"

Ah, Naruto's grin could only grow wider as he remembered the other great part about his relaxation time on the beach. He lifted his head from the water and brought a hand to his brow, to keep the sun from his eyes. There she was, the beautiful Mei Terumī, clad in an amazing blue one piece, slashed down the chest to show off that milky white skin.

She was waving at him with that peaceful smile, bidding him to come back to their towel and umbrella.

_Yeah, this 'going back to student' thing ain't so bad, huh?_

Maybe Naruto was overreacting a little to everything, but after all the work he put into training and fighting the Sannin, he felt a little rest and relaxation were worth it. The fight taught him how close one could come to death in just a moment's notice, and he did not want to waste any opportunity he got to have fun.

"Alright, coming!"

This looked like one such opportunity!

As he waded to shore, Mei held up a bottle of oil. With a shake of her wrist, she made her orders for him very clear. Without a word, she threw the slick container to him, giggling as he almost fumbled it into the sand.

On her stomach, Mei carefully brushed her long hair to the side to offer him full access. Well, almost full, until she gave him permission to untie her bikini from the back.

This mission just became even better!

* * *

><p>"We can discuss the failings of your Root shinobi later, Danzo..."<p>

Deep underground, in the catacombs beneath Konoha, two very powerful shinobi decided it was time to have a meeting to get back on the same page. One of them had decided to shift into action too early, and that was going too far.

"Orochimaru, just because you're the Yondaime-"

"It's _because_ I'm the Yondaime that I tell you this, old man..."

Orochimaru had lost his patience with Danzo, after the man decided to deviate from his carefully laid plans. Due to their relationship previous to him becoming Hokage, Orochimaru allowed Danzo to continue to operate as he saw fit. Root was a useful tool, when used properly, and Orochimaru was not so foolish to get rid of them altogether.

They simply needed a tighter leash, if the most recent incidents were anything to go by.

"Your aggressive actions toward Kiri will only bring their readiness level higher. What we wanted was for them to let their guard down further, but you decided on your own they had become weak enough to strike." Despite Danzo's seniority, Orochimaru had no qualms about speaking down to him. Not that he thought it would do any good, but he enjoyed it all the same.

"Just because we have strengthened our alliances with Ame and Taki does not mean we can afford to leave the other countries alone." Danzo narrowed his eye, refusing to back down. "My men underestimated the Nine Tails, yes that much is true. However, as I'm sure you know after your most recent visit to the Land of the Sea: things don't always go according to plan."

In both situations, they had been thwarted by a factor previously not considered in their equations. Yet still, a chunin making such a difference against their plans was an embarrassment all the same. They would have to choose their battles more carefully in the future.

"Simply put: if we see an opportunity to take a tailed beast, we must not miss that chance," Danzo said.

"You may be satisfied with swiping out from your little fortress of dirt whenever you see a glint of gold, but I'd much rather take the entire vein in one swoop." Orochimaru countered with a throaty snicker.

"As long as you keep in mind that without a proper host, the tailed beast itself is useless. Konoha does not have the capacity to create jinchuuriki, not anymore. We need the existing jinchuuriki, or those with the chakra to stomach the job."

"Not necessarily, Danzo. You forget the seed I'm growing..." Orochimaru's grin widened.

Danzo blinked, recollecting on their past conversations. He must have been talking about that Uchiha boy, Sasuke.

"You are still set on that immortality jutsu rubbish, I see."

"We'll see what's rubbish when one of us is lying in the dirt, never to breathe again." Orochimaru shrugged. "Needless to say, with the Uchiha clans dojutsu, we can control a tailed beast without the jinchuuriki. A lot less work too."

With a sharingan controlling the beast, you get the yin and the yang without all the extra security necessities. No more sealing or risk of being let loose at the wrong time: it was the perfect technique. You just had to find the right Uchiha for the job, and Sasuke was coming along nicely.

"Besides, Sasuke-kun needs the battle experience, he needs a proper war for him to become a good host."

War. Now that was a word Danzo had heard tossed around a lot recently by Orochimaru and his servants. He served in two of the world wars, so Orochimaru should have known the kind of damage one could do to a country; rarely did the country that started the war, come out on top in the end.

Though, the Land of Fire and Konoha itself was very different since the last war. Things could always play out differently.

_Orochimaru is crafty...and dangerous._

"Hokage-sama," A cloaked figure behind Orochimaru finally spoke up. The voice was feminine, and as quiet as a whisper in the wind. "He's approaching from twelve o'clock."

"Thank you, Hinata-chan."

Danzo's eye widened slightly. He was still toting that girl around? The disgraced Hyūga heir? The last he remembered, she was still stuck up in the hospital like some mute. Of course Hiruzen had thought to baby her, but Danzo had long written her off as a lost cause.

_Leave it to Orochimaru to collect the broken pieces of society..._

"There you are, Zetsu," Orochimaru said to someone behind Danzo. "I was wondering when you would decide to arrive. Fashionably late?"

Danzo turned to see a man, one half white and the other black, twisted together like some withered plant. He wore nothing over his body, and he was most definitely not an ally of Konoha. One of Orochimaru's acquaintances he happened to meet after taking over the Land of Bones.

"I don't report to you, Orochimaru. Remember that." His voice had the rasp of something dead.

"Whatever you like, Zetsu. How's my eye?" Orochimaru's question caused Zetsu to offer a rare show of emotion.

"Another question: how is the hunt for tailed beasts?"

"Hmph." The Hokage was clearly not pleased with the casual dodge of his question. "The Ichibi, Yonbi, and Nanabi are under our close watch. We can take them whenever we'd like."

"My men recently attempted to take the Nine Tails-"

"Key word is attempted, Danzo." Zetsu interrupted, scolding the old man's choice of words. "I was there, watching."

Danzo narrowed his eye; what a disgusting excuse for a human being.

"Kiri will have its time of vulnerability once my plans start. The firestorm will start in Kumo and then expand around the world." Orochimaru cackled. "Then, you will have the tailed beasts. As promised."

"And in return..." Orochimaru started, intending for Zetsu to finish.

"And in return, I will offer you what Madara has left behind."

Orochimaru's smirk widened upon hearing that.

"Until next time." Zetsu dropped back into the ground the way he came in.

"Hinata-chan," Orochimaru turned, carefully removing the girl's hood so that they could look upon her face. "Was he lying?"

Danzo noticed the obvious bulge in her blood vessels around the eye, signifying the activation of the Byakugan kekkei genkai. So, that was why he brought the girl along.

"I sensed no disruption in his chakra flow as he spoke with you, Hokage-sama," Hinata responded with an oddly familiar lack of emotion.

"Good work, Hinata-chan," Orochimaru turned halfway, as if to leave. He paused, then turned back to Danzo. "As I said before, we will discuss Root's new mission in the near future. Keep close, Danzo."

The old man said nothing in return as Orochimaru took his leave with the girl not far behind. He sensed a dark energy residing in her, and with his sharingan, he noticed the mark Orochimaru had left on her neck. That same energy resided in Orochimaru, and he could feel it pulse with him nearby.

_So, you are still up for using the curse mark on Konoha shinobi...even after Hiruzen tried to stop you._

"Orochimaru, you may have the darkness needed to be Hokage...but, your selfishness will be your undoing."

Danzo then took his own leave. Simply because he was not Hokage, did not mean that his actions to protect Konoha would cease. He had not given up on that position just yet; as long as he did not bow to Hiruzen, he would not bow to Orochimaru.

* * *

><p><em>Lots of good stuff this chapter. Finally get to see a bit of the enemy perspective, and Hinata's reveal.<em>

_Poor girl, she can't catch a break._

_Well, just like Naruto, she may too have her time in the sun. Maybe they can share that moment together with Mei._

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**


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